Amal Clooney faces sanctions as Trump shields Netenyahu

Renowned human rights lawyer Amal Clooney might be caught in the legal crosshairs of America’s fascist backslide sparking a possible flurry amongst democrat-voting celebrities who hate Donald Trump.

On February 6, less than a month into his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump authorized sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its chief prosecutor Karim Khan for “baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant” on charges of war crimes.

The news, first reported by the Financial Times, sent shockwaves through the international community. Following that, in April, the British Foreign Office reportedly warned several high-profile British lawyers involved in the same ICC case that they were at risk of being sanctioned.

In early 2024, Amal Clooney joined a panel of legal advisors brought together by the ICC. The panel supported Khan’s pursuit of arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In November, Khan’s application was granted.

Clooney is no stranger to high-stakes cases. Having represented world leaders, and genocide victims, and prosecuted Islamic State war criminals, her tireless advocacy earned her the Legal 500 “Lawyer of the Year” award in 2024

But Trump’s threats are both professional and personal. Besides her deep ties to international courts, she maintains a residence in the U.S. with her husband, Hollywood star George Clooney, and their two children.

Trump’s sanctions, which carry penalties of up to 20 years in federal prison and $100,000 for each violation, would effectively freeze her assets and bar her from entering the country.

The executive order, which UN experts have branded “an attack on global order,” calls for sanctions on any non-American who helped the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate, arrest, or prosecute so-called “protected people” without their government’s official permission. Israel, a “major non-NATO ally” falls under this protection.

It reads: “The ICC’s recent actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel…by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest.”

Writing for Forbes, Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab offers an explanation in defense of the decree: “The ICC does not have jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is party to the Rome Statute… the jurisdiction could be imposed by virtue of the alleged crimes being perpetrated within the territory of state parties to the Rome Statute. Indeed, this was the approach taken in relation to Netanyahu and Gallant.”

However, critics argue that the move blatantly violates the UN’s 1990 Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which ensures legal practitioners can practice free from political intimidation.

In a statement to the Guardian, a senior barrister who chose to remain anonymous said “This is not just about Amal Clooney. It’s about every lawyer who believes in the rule of law.”

Concerns are also building that the move reflects Trump’s nationalist policies, subordinating international norms and placing the U.S. and its allies outside the realm of justice.

Adam Keith, a director at Human Rights First condemned the program as “an outrageous misuse of sanctions and a direct attack on an accountability body that survivors and advocates around the world rely on for justice.”

Financial Times/ Middle East Eye