George Clooney Called Biden Aide To Defend Amal Clooney Over Israel Arrest Warrants
George Clooney reportedly called a Joe Biden adviser to complain about the president’s criticism of a case his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, worked on.
The account comes via The Washington Post, which cited three unnamed sources familiar with the conversation between Clooney and Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president.
Clooney was ticked at Biden for slamming the International Criminal Court’s effort to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in the conflict with Hamas. (The court did the same for Hamas leaders.)
Amal Clooney, a special adviser with the court, recommended the move.
“The law that protects civilians in war was developed more than 100 years ago and it applies in every country in the world regardless of the reasons for a conflict,” she wrote.
But Biden made a forceful statement denouncing the court: “The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
According to the Post, the Oscar-winning activist was also upset that sanctions against the ICC, which the Biden administration was initially open to, might penalize his wife. The House this week voted to impose sanctions against the war-crimes court, but the Biden administration has said it “strongly opposes” the bill. It is not likely to get through the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Clooney’s considerable Hollywood clout makes the situation delicate for the White House.
He along with Julia Roberts and former President Barack Obama are scheduled to hold a fundraiser for Biden in Los Angeles on June 15. In 2020, Clooney hosted a fundraiser for Biden that raised $7 million. In 2022, Biden celebrated Clooney’s Kennedy Center Honors award at the White House and jokingly called him “Amal Clooney’s husband.”
