Donald Trump sanctions International Criminal Court as union begins legal action against President

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to sanction the International Criminal Court for actions against the US and its allies such as Israel.

The order accuses the ICC of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions” against the US and its “close ally” Israel.

It says the court “abused its power” by issuing “baseless” arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

Trump’s order says the ICC’s actions set a “dangerous precedent”. The sanctions include barring ICC officials and their immediate family members from entering the United States.

The document says Washington remains committed to accountability but calls on the ICC to respect its decision.

The order imposes financial and visa restrictions on ICC personnel who assist the court’s investigations of US citizens or Washington’s allies.

The move coincides with a visit to Washington by Mr Netanyahu, who - along with his former defence minister and a leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas - is wanted by the ICC over the war in the Gaza Strip.

It was unclear how quickly the US would announce names of people sanctioned. During the first Trump administration in 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes by American troops in Afghanistan.

The ICC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The sanctions include freezing any US assets of those designated and barring them and their families from visiting the United States.

The 125-member ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression against the territory of member states or by their nationals. The United States, China, Russia and Israel are not members.

Trump signed the executive order after US Senate Democrats last week blocked a Republican-led effort to pass legislation setting up a sanctions regime targeting the war crimes court.

The court has taken measures to shield staff from possible US sanctions, paying salaries three months in advance, as it braced for financial restrictions that could cripple the war crimes tribunal, sources told Reuters last month.

In December, the court’s president, judge Tomoko Akane, warned that sanctions would “rapidly undermine the court’s operations in all situations and cases, and jeopardise its very existence.”

Russia has also taken aim at the court.

In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia has banned entry to ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan and placed him and two ICC judges on its wanted list.

Founded in 2002 - in the wake of the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan genocide - the ICC was formed to investigate alleged atrocities.

The court can only deal with crimes committed after July 2002, when the Rome Statute - which formed the court - took effect.

Over 120 countries have ratified the statute, while another 34 have signed and may ratify in the future.

It comes as Mr Trump said he would create a White House faith office and direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead a task force on eradicating what he called anti-Christian bias within the federal government.

Trump delivered remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the US Capitol and used his speech to call for “unity”, telling politicians his relationship with religion has “changed” after a pair of failed assassination attempts last year.

Meanwhile, the largest US government workers’ union and an association of foreign service workers have sued the Trump administration in an effort to reverse its aggressive dismantling of the US Agency for International Development.

The lawsuit seeks an order blocking what it says are “unconstitutional and illegal actions” that have created a “global humanitarian crisis.”

Those actions include President Trump’s order on January 20 pausing all US foreign aid. That was followed by orders from the State Department halting USAID projects around the world, agency computer systems going offline and staff abruptly laid off or placed on leave.