Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is demanding answers regarding misconduct allegations against International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan, which surfaced while Khan was seeking to bring criminal charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Khan's move sparked outrage from President Joe Biden and U.K.'s then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. It's the first time the ICC had sought to arrest officials from a Western-allied country.
Before Khan requested the warrants in May, Graham, along with other senators, had been working to encourage dialogue between Khan and the Israeli leaders before Khan pursued his prosecution.
But Khan abruptly canceled a meeting with the Israeli officials and then publicly announced the warrant requests without informing Netanyahu and Gallant ahead of time.
Media reports suggested that a female ICC employee had raised harassment concerns about Khan around the same time, but the allegations did not result in a formal investigation.
Khan has denied any wrongdoing, calling the claims untrue.
In a letter, Graham wrote, "Public reports indicate that allegations of harassment surfaced in early May – just a few days before Prosecutor Khan applied for arrest warrants against the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Israel for alleged violations of law during the defensive Israeli-Hamas War.
"The timing of the allegations is troubling, and only compounds the other strong legal, jurisdictional, and prudential objections I have expressed regarding the Prosecutor's decision to seek arrest warrants," Graham wrote.
He added, "Bringing charges against the defense minister and the prime minister of Israel in the middle of a war for the survival of the Jewish people without even talking to them, canceling a meeting, just doesn't pass the smell test. I want to know what the hell happened."
ICC judges have not yet issued the warrants.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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