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The US has said it will reject any attempt by the court to exercise jurisdiction over citizens, days after three ICC judges adjourned the case on sanctions.
The administration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has also criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC), promising that any effort to exercise control over US citizens would be considered “directly” against the country’s sovereignty.
The statement, which was written in a letter to the president of the ICC, Tomoko Akane, does not contain new ideas, but it represented a statement against the international court.
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“The ICC acted in an unconstitutional and unconstitutional manner,” Todd Blanche, the US attorney general, wrote in the letter, which was released to the public on Thursday but was dated June 29.
The US is not a party to the Rome Statute, the court’s founding document, so the country is not subject to the court’s jurisdiction.
But critics say that the US’s actions against signatory countries could lead to ICC proceedings.
Both Democratic and Republican administrations have resisted any investigation that would imprison US citizens, although some presidents have quietly offered their support to the court.
However, the Trump administration made a lot of trouble with the court, and launched a amount of sanctions against the court and its main opponents. These procedures are extended to any group or organization that is involved in the investigation of US citizens and their associates.
For example, in October, the Trump administration used its ICC sanctions to impose financial sanctions on three Palestinian rights groups accused of participating in an Israeli criminal court investigation.
Trump had already issued an executive order in February 2025 explaining that the ICC sanctions were the result of the court’s “events” targeting “America and Israel’s closest ally”.
In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes committed during Israel’s war in Gaza. It also issued warrants for a number of Hamas officials who were killed.
Israel is no longer a party to the Treaty of Rome – although Palestine is – and has rejected the court’s jurisdiction.
In Thursday’s letter, Blanche criticized the ICC for pursuing “investigations that appear to be driven by political pressure and corporate self-interest as a legal motive”.
He also confirmed the US state’s claim that the court cannot track US citizens in its investigation.
“The ICC has no jurisdiction over the people of the US – anywhere in the world – and any attempt to claim such jurisdiction is illegal, illegal and an affront to the sovereignty of the United States,” Blanche said.
It was not immediately clear why Blanche chose to send the letter this week.
Court officials have not publicly responded to the letter, but the judiciary has repeatedly taken steps to investigate.
The letter was published after three ICC judges wrote a a case in federal court in Manhattan against Trump’s sanctions.
The judges said that, by issuing the sanctions, the Trump administration sought to unfairly pressure the court, with the aim of punishing and coercing the judges.
The letter comes months after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would use authorities to arrest Netanyahu if he visited the city.
Netanyahu has said he will continue to visit the city in the future, despite threats.
