{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=462C461E-DE62-47D9-91B5-3A64B66971C7", "U.S. Senators Call for Review of ICC Prosecutor's Decision to Apply for Arrest Warrants for Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Timing of Misconduct Allegations", "2024-11-01", "2024", "2024-11", "Republican", "Senate", "SC", "Lindsey Graham", "G000359", "www.lgraham.senate.gov", "graham", "https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), John Thune (R-South Dakota), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) sent a letter to the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the governing body of the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling for an investigation into misconduct allegations against Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan that seem to implicate his decision to apply for arrest warrants for Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.\n\nFirst, in a potential violation of international law, Prosecutor Khan failed to properly engage with the State of Israel during his investigation and abruptly canceled a meeting between the Prosecutor\u2019s office and Israeli representatives and then announced the application for arrest warrants. Second, several media reports, including an October 25, 2024 Associated Press story, found the warrant applications were announced around the same time that Prosecutor Khan was accused of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct. This raises the possibility that the Prosecutor was influenced by extraneous factors. If the allegations against Prosecutor Khan are true, the Senators have asked the ASP to hold a vote to remove him from his position.\n\nThe Senators wrote, \u201cFirst, Prosecutor Khan did not comply with the law when he applied for arrest warrants against Israeli government officials\u2026 we received notification that members of Prosecutor Khan\u2019s team were scheduled to meet with legal representatives for the State of Israel on May 20 in Israel. To our astonishment, however, members of the Prosecutor\u2019s office never boarded the plane to Israel and the meeting was abruptly canceled just a few hours before it was to take place... Prosecutor Khan\u2019s abrupt cancelation and his announcement of an application for arrest warrants on that same day have always been perplexing, and stand in stark contrast to the assurances we received from his office that there would be meaningful consultations with Israel, as required by the letter and spirit of the Rome Statute.\u201d\n\nThey continued,\u201cSecond, in addition to these legal concerns regarding Prosecutor Khan\u2019s application for warrants against Israeli officials, there is a cloud hanging over the Prosecutor and his office. It has come to light recently through numerous media reports\u2014particularly an Associated Press (AP) story dated October 25, 2024\u2014that allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Prosecutor Khan emerged earlier this year, around the time he decided not to send his team to meet with Israeli legal representatives and announced a warrant application instead\u2026 If the allegations are substantiated, we urge the Assembly to take all necessary steps available under its authority\u2014up to and including holding a vote for his removal\u2014and to consider the implications on the investigations led by Prosecutor Khan. Transparency is of utmost importance regarding the allegations against Prosecutor Khan. We urge the body to take this seriously.\u201d\n\nThey concluded, \u201cAny action by the Court regarding arrest warrants for Israeli officials without the benefit of a completed investigation into the serious allegations hanging over Prosecutor Khan would cast doubt on the Court\u2019s actions, and jeopardize the credibility of the ICC more broadly. We urge you to consider seriously the concerns we have raised.\u201d\n\nTo read the full letter, click here.\n\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:02:12Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=462C461E-DE62-47D9-91B5-3A64B66971C7"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.103663980960846, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}