The US v the ICC: Why is Trump going after the court?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 21 May 2025
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is facing one of the deepest crises in its history. United States President Donald Trump sanctioned lead prosecutor Karim Khan earlier this year, grinding the court’s work to a crawl. Khan is now on leave as he faces a sexual misconduct investigation. How is the court functioning in his absence, and what does it mean for the future of international accountability?
In this episode:
- Molly Quell (@MollyQuell), Associated Press journalist
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Amy Walters, Sonia Bhagat and Ashish Malhotra with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Mariana Navarrete, Khaled Soltan, Kisaa Zehra, Remas Alhawari, and our guest host, Natasha DelToro. It was edited by Kylene Kiang.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, can the International Criminal Court survive? |
| 0:15.0 | Since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on its chief prosecutor Karim Khan in February, |
| 0:22.3 | the Hague-based court has reportedly struggled to operate. |
| 0:26.6 | Now facing sanctions and scandal, the court's limited power is diminishing. |
| 0:32.8 | So what does that mean for justice beyond borders? |
| 0:38.1 | I'm Natasha Del Toro, and this is the take. |
| 0:51.9 | Employees are barred from working in the United States. |
| 0:55.2 | Email is difficult. |
| 0:56.7 | Even speaking to a colleague or responding to your boss could mean up to 20 years in jail. |
| 1:02.0 | That's life these days at the International Criminal Court. |
| 1:05.1 | The only court that investigates and where warranted tries individuals for war crimes and crimes against humanity. |
| 1:12.4 | The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin |
| 1:16.8 | because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine. |
| 1:21.2 | The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israel's Prime Minister |
| 1:26.4 | Benyamin Netanyahu and former defence |
| 1:28.5 | Minister Yoav Galant for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. |
| 1:32.2 | Well, the former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested at Manila Airport |
| 1:36.3 | on an international criminal court warrant. |
| 1:39.5 | But today, it's finding it very difficult to do his job. |
| 1:44.2 | Joining us to talk about this is Molly Kwell, a reporter for the Associated Press, |
| 1:48.6 | who's been covering the International Criminal Court, the ICC through its successes, |
... |
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