Biden donor George Clooney calls White House to boost wife’s anti-Israel work with International Criminal Court

Sources familiar with the conversation told the Washington Post that Clooney called counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti in May to express concerns regarding Biden’s condemnation of the arrest warrants sought by the ICC. Clooney reportedly took issue with Biden’s use of the word "outrageous."

The sources also told the outlet that Clooney was upset about the Biden administration’s receptiveness to imposing sanctions on the ICC because his wife could be subject to those sanctions as well.

Clooney is set to appear at a Biden campaign event in Los Angeles on June 15, and his call raised concerns that Clooney would withdraw from the fundraiser. The sources told the outlet that Clooney still plans to attend despite the concerns. The fundraiser will also be attended by Jimmy Kimmel, Barrack Obama, and Julia Roberts.

On May 20, the ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he was seeking to charge Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Hamas leader Yehiya Sinwar and two other top Hamas leaders with crimes against humanity and war crimes. The White House later said that sanctions were "not the right answer."

Amal Clooney, an international human rights lawyer, said in a statement after Khan’s announcement that Khan’s office had received her help with the investigation. She reportedly was asked to review evidence of suspected war crimes and provided legal analysis.

"I do not accept that any conflict should be beyond the reach of the law, nor that any perpetrator should be above the law,” Amal Clooney said in a statement. “So I support the historic step that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has taken to bring justice to victims of atrocities in Israel and Palestine."

Clooney has been a staunch supporter of Biden, donating more than $500,000 to his campaign in 2020 and cohosting a virtual fundraiser that raised $7 million.