Attorneys In Congress Threaten Future Of International Court
In a seemingly gross violation of attorney ethical rules, Congress members who are attorneys are trying to protect Israel by crippling the tribunal that prosecutes crimes against humanity.
At least 36 attorneys who are members of the U.S. Congress appear to be crossing ethical lines to prevent the International Criminal Court (ICC) from responding to Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing or genocide in Gaza.
These attorneys are overtly threatening and attempting to intimidate judges from the ICC and officials from the United Nations.
The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct explicitly forbids attorneys from engaging in conduct that could improperly influence judges or judicial proceedings. Similar rules exist in federal and state bar association. Serious breaches of these rules could result in disbarment.
The ICC, based at The Hague, Netherlands, was founded in 1945, in the aftermath of WWII, and prosecutes serious international crimes in accordance with international law.
Moreover, most if not all the attorneys have glaring conflicts of interest in that they have accepted sizeable donations - more than a million in some cases - from pro-Israeli lobbying groups, including AIPAC
Defund The UN?
Congress members Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Mike Lawler (R-N) spearheaded a letter-writing effort in the U.S. House of Representatives last week that garnered 105 signatures, including that of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
According to the website OpenSecrets, Moskowitz, an attorney, has accepted $302,550 in campaign contributions from pro Israeli donors, and Johnson, also an attorney, has accepted $810,823.
Questions inevitably arise when politicians accept significant donations from a foreign country and then advocate for that country. Is their advocacy in the best interests of the citizens of the United States, or the state of Israel? Are their actions a form of quid pro quo, or are they hustling for new donations.
In any case, ethical rules require attorneys to rely on the use of evidence to persuade, not threats and intimidation.
Dozens of lawyers were among the 105 members of Congress who warned UN Secretary General António Guterres that Washington would cut funding to the United Nations if it “downgraded” Israel within the U.N. General Assembly.
The signers expressed “outrage” the UN General Assembly, acting on an International Criminal Court advisory opinion, called on Israel to completely withdraw from the West Bank. They claimed this undercut Israel’s right to defend itself, with no consideration of Israel’s legitimate safety concerns.
“We remind you that the U.S. is the largest donor to the U.N. Our contributions account for one-third of the body’s collective budget,” they threatened.
The other attorney signers were Tom Emmer (R-Minn), Michael T. McCaul (R-TX), Nick Lalota (R-NY), Joe Wilson (D-SC), Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Thomas H. Kean, Jr. (R-NJ), Kathy E. Manning (D-NC), Trent Kelly (R-Miss), H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Michael Gues (R-Miss), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Brad Sherman(D-CA), Ben Cline (R-VA), David Kustoff (R-TN), Jim Jorden (R-OH), John W. Rose (R-TN), Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon (R-Puerto Rico), Charles J. Fleischmann (R-TN), Claudia Tenny (R-NY), Robert B. Aderholt (R-ALA), Russell Fry (R-SC), Chip Roy (R-TX), Keith Self (R-TX), Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY), Mike Flood (R-NE),
Direct Threats
In April, a group of 12 Republican Senators directly threatened International Court of Justice lead prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan, who had announced on May 20 that he was filing applications for warrants to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Palestine (in the Gaza strip).
Khan alleged Netanyahu and Gallant engineered a strategy to starve civilians as a method of warfare, intentionally directed attacks against a civilian population, condoned murder, and committed “other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity.”
In the letter, the Senators warned they would interpret an arrest warrant “not only as a threat to Israel’s sovereignty but to the sovereignty of the United States.”
“Target Israel and we will target you,” wrote the Senators.
It was unambiguously personal. “We will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associations, and bar you and your families from the United States. You have been warned,” wrote the Senators.
The letter signers were Tom Cotton (R-AK), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Katie Britt (R-Ala), Ted Budd (R-NC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rich Scott (R-FL) and Tim Scott (R-SC).
Of this group, Cotton, Cruz, Britt, Hagerty, McConnell, Rubio, Rich Scott and Tim Scott are attorneys and all are recipients of pro-Israel money. Two of the Senators are among the top 20 recipients of pro-Israel money: McConnell has received $1,953,910 while Cruz has gotten $1,493,422.
Turning Point
The letter had the desired effect. The ICC has not issued the warrants.
Tomoko Akane, the president of the ICC, speaking before the General Assembly this week, said the past year was marked by unprecedented levels of threats, pressures and coercive measures that pose a serious threat to administering justice. “We are truly at a turning point in history. The rule-based approach to the conduct of hostilities and global affairs and the very notion of international criminal justice is under significant threat,” she said.
A representative from the state of Palestine asked Akane why Israel had not been held accountable and questioned whether international law applies only to some, not to others.
Clearly, the ICC is now seen as an institution with a double standard, a court that prosecutes only poor countries with no protection from a superpower.
The American Bar Association
There is little chance the American Bar Association (ABA) will investigate possible ethical rules violations by the lawyers in the U.S. Congress. The organization in the U.S. that has the most influence on the rule of law - the ABA - appears to be silenced from within.
ABA President Mary Smith last year urged “all parties” (both Israel and Hamas) to stop hostilities and stressed the need for “all parties” to uphold international law, including the ban on ethnic cleansing. That statement was quickly withdrawn following pressure by ABA members.
The Palestinian Health Ministry estimates that 43,000 people - more than half of whom were women and children - have been killed by Israel in the yearlong war in Gaza.
The war began after Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023, blew holes in Israel’s security fence and killed some 1,200 people while abducting 250 others. Gaza has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.