ICC prosecutor comes under scrutiny on Capitol Hill over sexual assault allegations

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court who issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, is facing scrutiny from pro-Israel lawmakers on Capitol Hill over newly revealed sexual assault allegations.

In May, Khan ordered the arrest of Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Although Israel is not part of the ICC, allowing its decisions to be ignored, the warrants prevent Netanyahu or Gallanta from traveling to any country as determined by the court.

Khan is accused of sexually harassing a female colleague for more than a year, allegedly attempting to force her into sexual relations and groping her against her will. A woman who was interviewed by an ICC independent monitor after two colleagues she confided in reported alleged misconduct refused to make a complaint during that interview.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Jewish Insider said on Monday that the charges against Khan had “eclipsed” the trial against Netanyahu and others.

Graham made the comments on the sidelines of a Republican Jewish Coalition event in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in support of former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the Republican Senate candidate. The South Carolina senator explained that he does not understand how Hahn came to the decision to issue the warrants and is now seeking answers directly from the court.

“I wrote a letter to the governing body of the ICC asking for information about the investigation. Was this a fair investigation? Was the person who made the accusations intimidated? He was supposed to arrive in Israel on May 20. I had a telephone conversation with 10 senators – five Republicans and five Democrats – and I urged him to listen to the Israeli point of view, to invoke complementarity, which is a legal concept under the Rome Statute,” Graham said, referring to the treaty establishing the ICC. “People in Israel were at the airport to meet him. At the last minute, he canceled his flight and filed an arrest warrant. So I always wondered what the hell happened.”

In accordance with the principle of complementarity, the ICC is supposed to respect local laws and courts unless they are unwilling or unable to prosecute offenses.

“I don’t know if these allegations are true, all I know is that there is a lot of intrigue around what happened,” Graham continued. “Apparently, this lady spoke at the beginning of May. So I guess I want to know how this was handled? Is there anyone there? Apparently some internal report said that the ICC was a very unhealthy place to work. So the question is, does this have anything to do with the decision to issue arrest warrants, as I thought, arbitrarily and without any involvement from Israel? Was he trying to change the subject? I don’t know, but I wrote to management and am waiting for a response.”

Last week, Graham sent a letter to Päivi Kaukoranta, the president of the Assembly of States Parties, which has jurisdiction over the ICC, asking for an update on the situation and an explanation of the timing of the warrants in light of the new allegations.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said the allegations merit Khan’s removal from office.

“The sexual harassment charge confirms what we have long known: a politicized prosecutor like Karim Khan has the same integrity as a politicized ICC, which is none at all. A person who breaks the law cannot be trusted to enforce the law. Karim Khan must resign or be suspended,” Torres said in a statement to JI.

In the following weeks Associated Press The report said the prosecutor “decided to rise through the ranks by appealing to the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, which oversees the trial and has the final say on Khan’s future.”

The woman, whom Khan transferred to his office, asked the ASP to investigate the matter. Khan has denied the allegations, which arose privately when he submitted controversial arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other members of the military cabinet.

This story has been updated with additional reaction from the legislator.