--- title: Trump Administration to Threaten Sanctions Over ICC Probe description: National Security Advisor John Bolton has drafted a speech in response to the International Criminal Court's possible probe of U.S. forces canonical: https://time.com/5391289/john-bolton-icc-sanctions/ author: Laignee Barron article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-09-10T05:17:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:11.497Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Administration to Threaten Sanctions Over ICC Probe og:description: The court is set to investigate alleged U.S. war crimes committed in Afghanistan og:url: https://time.com/5391289/john-bolton-icc-sanctions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt165db136b26a843c/698939cee76ad23e27632f19/gettyimages-1022297120.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: National Security Advisor to the United States John Bolton Visits Kiev og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Administration to Threaten Sanctions Over ICC Probe twitter:description: The court is set to investigate alleged U.S. war crimes committed in Afghanistan twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt165db136b26a843c/698939cee76ad23e27632f19/gettyimages-1022297120.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Trump Administration Is Taking Aim at the International Criminal Court, Report Says > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: President Trump Praises His Afghanistan Strategy in Thanksgiving Address to Troops [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Praises His Afghanistan Strategy in Thanksgiving Address to Troops](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dG9tcox5.m3u8) (1:10)  _Published 2017-11-23. Addressing troops stationed in Afghanistan, the President said: "Everybody's talking about the progress you've made in the last few months since I opened it up”_ by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Sep 10, 2018 5:17 AM UTC  National Security Advisor John Bolton visits Kyiv, Ukraine on Aug. 24, 2018. National Security Advisor John Bolton visits Kyiv, Ukraine on Aug. 24, 2018. Maxym Marusenko—NurPhoto/Getty Images by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Sep 10, 2018 5:17 AM UTC The Trump Administration plans to adopt a hostile stance toward the International Criminal Court, possibly [threatening sanctions](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-icc/trump-administration-to-take-tough-stance-against-international-criminal-court-idUSKCN1LQ076) if prosecutors proceed with an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Reuters reports. National Security Advisor John Bolton will assert U.S. opposition to the ICC probe in a speech, a draft of which was seen by the news agency. The planned address will be his first since joining the Trump White House. “The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” Bolton will tell the Federalist Society, a conservative group, according to Reuters. In the draft speech, Bolton insists the Trump administration “will fight back” if the Hague-based court takes formal measures to open an investigation into conduct by U.S. service members and intelligence professionals during the war in Afghanistan. “We will not cooperate with the ICC,” says Bolton’s draft text, which adds that “for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us.” If the investigation continues anyway, Bolton’s speech says the Trump administration could take steps to ban prosecutors and judges from the U.S., and could also sanction an U.S.-based funds. Additionally, he warns in the text, the U.S. may seek bilateral agreements that would prohibit nations from surrendering Americans to the ICC. The aggressive rhetoric and tough posturing in Bolton’s draft echoes the kind of pushback the top tribunal has faced from alleged despots and war criminals the world over. In April, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte [threatened to arrest](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-duterte-icc/i-will-arrest-you-duterte-warns-icc-lawyer-to-steer-clear-of-philippines-idUSKBN1HK0DS) prosecutors examining his war on drugs, which has killed thousands. Bolton’s speech is not the first time the U.S. has taken a hostile approach to the ICC. When the court was established in 2002, then-President George W. Bush refused to ratify the Rome treaty underpinning the tribunal, which aims to hold accountable perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Bolton’s speech will also announce Washington’s plans to close the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office over concerns that it is attempting to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel. “The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel,” says Bolton’s draft text. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5391289/john-bolton-icc-sanctions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5391289/john-bolton-icc-sanctions/"},"headline":"The Trump Administration Is Taking Aim at the International Criminal Court, Report Says","datePublished":"2018-09-10T05:17:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:11.497Z","description":"The Hague-based court is set to investigate alleged U.S. war crimes committed in Afghanistan","url":"https://time.com/5391289/john-bolton-icc-sanctions/","keywords":["National Security","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt165db136b26a843c/698939cee76ad23e27632f19/gettyimages-1022297120.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laignee Barron","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt165db136b26a843c/698939cee76ad23e27632f19/gettyimages-1022297120.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"National Security Advisor to the United States John Bolton Visits Kiev","caption":"National Security Advisor to the United States John Bolton Visits Kiev","creditText":"Maxym Marusenko—NurPhoto/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/national-security/","name":"National Security"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5391289/john-bolton-icc-sanctions/","name":"The Trump Administration Is Taking Aim at the International Criminal Court, Report Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"President Trump Praises His Afghanistan Strategy in Thanksgiving Address to Troops","description":"Addressing troops stationed in Afghanistan, the President said: \"Everybody's talking about the progress you've made in the last few months since I opened it up”","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/dG9tcox5/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-11-23T17:55:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dG9tcox5.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5391289/john-bolton-icc-sanctions/","duration":"PT1M10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5391289/john-bolton-icc-sanctions/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```