The actor was also upset that the administration was initially willing to impose ICC sanctions because it meant his wife would be subject to punishment, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Clooney’s call came just weeks before he is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser for Biden’s reelection campaign in Los Angeles next Saturday. Clooney’s concerns have spread among Biden’s circle, with some fearing the famous actor might pull out of the marquee event, which also will feature former President Barack Obama, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and actress Julia Roberts.
For weeks, Mr. Biden’s reelection campaign has been running a fundraising contest for supporters to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to meet with Mr. Obama, Mr. Clooney and Ms. Roberts. Mr. Clooney still plans to attend the fundraiser, the people said.
The Biden campaign disputed the notion that there were serious concerns that Mr. Clooney would pull out of the fundraiser, and Mr. Clooney, through a representative, declined to comment, as did the White House.
Clooney has been a longtime supporter of Democratic candidates and causes, donating more than $500,000 to Biden’s campaign in 2020 and co-hosting a virtual fundraiser that raised $7 million for Biden.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced on May 20 that he was seeking to indict Netanyahu, Gallant, Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar and two other senior Hamas officials on war crimes and crimes against humanity.
After Khan’s announcement, international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney said in a statement that prosecutors had asked her to assist in the investigation, review the evidence of potential war crimes and provide a legal analysis. A statement from the Clooney Foundation for Justice, a human rights group she founded with her husband, said the team’s legal decision was “unanimous.”
“I reject the notion that any conflict should be above the law or that any perpetrators should not be above the law,” Amal Clooney said in a statement. “That’s why I support the historic step taken by the International Criminal Court prosecutor to bring justice to victims of atrocities in Israel and Palestine.”
But Biden, along with other Democratic and Republican leaders, criticized the move, saying it suggested a false symmetry between Israel, which is reacting to brutal terror attacks, and Hamas, which aims to eradicate Israel.The Biden administration had initially signaled its intention to work with Congress to punish the ICC, including potentially imposing sanctions on the organization.
“It is outrageous that the ICC prosecutor has filed arrest warrants against Israeli leaders,” Biden said in a statement. “Let me be clear: no matter what the prosecutor says, there is no parity between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
The White House later said sanctions against the ICC were “not the right answer” and that it would work with Congress to take other measures to address the court’s “abuse of its power.”
Administration officials played down the idea that sanctions were being considered: “Our position has been consistent and has always been based on the best interests of the United States, without taking into account other factors,” National Security Council spokesman Eduardo Maia Silva said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to impose sanctions on the ICC. The Biden administration said in a statement that it “strongly opposes” the bill because it “could require sanctions against court officials, judges, witnesses, and U.S. allies and partners who provide limited and targeted support for various aspects of the court’s work.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who invited Netanyahu to speak to a joint session of Congress, criticized Biden and other Democrats for their opposition to sanctions.
“It is disturbing that the Biden Administration continues to undermine Israel, and that 155 House Democrats have now voted to allow the ICC to target our ally and undermine U.S. national security interests,” Johnson said.
Biden administration officials have said they are open to working with Congress on alternatives but have declined to provide details.
The country and the world are embroiled in a fierce debate over how to respond to the military operation Israel launched after Hamas fighters crossed the Gaza border on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. The retaliatory attack on the Gaza Strip, which Israel says was aimed at expelling Hamas, has left more than 36,000 Palestinians dead and sparked a humanitarian crisis in the strip.
Biden has staunchly supported Israel throughout the military campaign, emphasizing Israel’s right to self-defense and providing continued military assistance for its operations.
Trump has become increasingly critical of Netanyahu’s government, particularly over its refusal to allow more aid to Gaza and the airstrike that killed seven World Central kitchen workers in April. But Trump’s broad support and unwillingness to impose conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel have deeply divided the Democratic Party and threatened the fragile coalition that supported him in the 2020 presidential election.
Democrats are concerned that voters, especially younger voters and communities of color, may not show the same level of support for Biden as they did four years ago, when he narrowly defeated President Donald Trump.
Biden has recently been pressuring Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement that would free many of the remaining hostages and pave the way for a permanent end to the war.
The Biden campaign’s Los Angeles fundraiser with Obama and Clooney followed one in April in New York City with Obama and former President Bill Clinton. The campaign said the event raised more than $26 million and touted it as the most successful single fundraiser ever held by a Democratic candidate.
As of the end of April, Biden still had a financial advantage over Trump, with his fundraising group having $146 million in cash compared to $88 million for Trump and the Republicans.
But Trump raised more money than Biden in April and has seen a surge in funding since a Manhattan jury convicted him of 34 counts of falsifying business records in a hush-money trial. The Trump campaign announced it had raised $53 million online within 24 hours of the verdict.
In 2023, President Biden appointed Clooney to the President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities, which advises the president on cultural policy. Clooney visited the White House in December 2022 when he received the Kennedy Center Honors.
At the event, Biden, as he often does when introducing celebrities in public, made a playful reference to Clooney’s wife.
“We look at Amal Clooney’s husband,” Biden said, adding, “George is one of the most acclaimed actors, directors, producers and screenwriters of our time.”
