George Clooney called by phone last May, according to what the American newspaper has published Washington Post, to one of the top advisors to the president of the United States to complain about Joe Biden’s criticism of the request by the prosecution of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant , as well as the leadership of Hamas for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. This is a judicial procedure that became known on May 20 and in which his wife, lawyer Amal Clooney, worked for months.
The American newspaper, which cites anonymous sources from three people familiar with the matter, assures that the actor’s call to the White House occurred last month and the interlocutor was Steve Ricchetti, advisor to the president. The protagonist of Up in the Air expressed to the presidential advisor his concern about Biden’s criticism of the arrest warrants requested by prosecutors in The Hague. According to the sources consulted, the interpreter placed special emphasis on the fact that the Democratic president had called them “scandalous.” Clooney was also upset by the US Administration’s intention to impose sanctions against the international body, since his wife actively participated in the preparation of the reports that led to the arrest warrants, and she could be affected by them.
From the beginning, President Biden was reluctant to accept the decision of the ICC prosecutor’s office on May 20. “The arrest warrant for Israeli leaders is outrageous,” he said in a statement at the time: “Let me be clear: regardless of what this prosecutor may imply, there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.” Later, the White House said that sanctions against the international court “were not the right response,” while confirming that they would work on other avenues to overreach the criminal body.
George Clooney has always been a loyal voter of the US Democratic Party. In fact, the call occurred just a few weeks before his next appearance at a fundraising event for Biden’s re-election campaign, which will be held on next June 15 in Los Angeles. The president’s advisors became concerned about Clooney’s attitude, fearing that he might withdraw his participation in the campaign, in which former President Barack Obama, well-known television host Jimmy Kimmel and actress Julia Roberts will also participate. . Neither Clooney’s representation team nor that of President Biden have wanted to comment publicly on the matter.
One of the evidence that demonstrates the close relationship between the actor and the Democrats dates back to 2020, when he donated more than 500,000 dollars (about 459,000 euros in the current converter) to the Biden campaign effort and hosted a fundraiser. virtual funds that raised up to 7 million dollars (6.4 million euros).
Amal Clooney, a renowned human rights lawyer for more than 20 years, has been a member of the panel of judges that advised the International Criminal Court in the Gaza conflict. Their reports determined that the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, issued arrest warrants against Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of his government, as well as Hamas leader Yahia Sinwar and two other senior leaders of that organization. accuse them of having committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. The lawyer posted a statement on the website of her foundation (the Clooney Foundation for Justice, or CFJ) in which she explained that the prosecutor’s office had hired her to help with the investigation, asking her to review alleged war crimes. “I do not accept that any conflict should be beyond the reach of the law, nor that any perpetrator should be above the law,” she wrote. “That is why I support the historic leap that the International Criminal Court has taken to bring justice to the victims of atrocities in Israel and Palestine.”
