Ted Cruz Presses Ambassador Nominee On 'Collision Course' Between US, Turkey Over ICC Arrest Warrant

4/7/2025

During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked Trump's Turkey ambassador nominee, Tom Barrack, about Turkey's support for the ICC's arrest warrant for Israeli officials.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Senator Ricketts. Next, I'll call on Senator Cruz.

00:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome to all three of you. I will say the three of you all have

00:08had exceptionally successful business careers, and I appreciate your willingness to serve.

00:13I appreciate your willingness to go and represent the United States of America in three critically

00:19important countries, and I appreciate your service to the country.

00:24Mr. Barrack, I want to start with you. As you know, the International Criminal Court

00:29has issued arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister

00:34Benjamin Netanyahu, to punish Israel for its campaign against Hamas. Those warrants are

00:41disgraceful, they're illegitimate, and they're breathtakingly dangerous to America's national

00:46security interests. The warrants are disgraceful because Israel's war against Hamas is a legitimate

00:53campaign of self-defense in response to the October 7th terrorist attack, and I believe

00:58that our Israeli allies should not stop until they have utterly eradicated Hamas. They are

01:04illegitimate because Israel is not a member of the ICC, and the ICC has no jurisdiction

01:09over Israel, and they pose an acute threat to the safety and security of Americans because

01:15the precedent being set would allow the ICC to prosecute American officials and American

01:20troops who are likewise outside the court's jurisdiction.

01:25In response to this threat, President Trump issued an executive order. It reads, quote,

01:29the United States expects our allies to oppose any ICC actions against the United States,

01:35Israel or any other ally of the United States that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction.

01:41However, Turkey and Erdogan in particular have been active in boosting the ICC's campaign.

01:49Erdogan said, quote, we support the arrest warrant. Erdogan met with the ICC prosecutor

01:54responsible for the warrants, Karim Khan, and expressed support for the ICC's attack

02:00against Israel. Erdogan's position puts both him and Turkey on a collision course with

02:07President Trump and with the United States. Please talk a little bit about how, if confirmed,

02:13you intend to approach this challenge.

02:15Thank you, Senator. My first advice would not be the welcome wagon to Senator Erdogan,

02:23but it would be please don't get on a collision course with President Trump. That would not

02:27be a wise direction. My attitude and intention is simple. The practices and policies of the

02:36United States, of President Trump, of this body, are my GPS. I'm not a policymaker. I'm

02:45an executor of policy, and I would intend to, within the bounds of whatever diplomatic

02:50tools I have available, enforce that and make it clear that that is our position.

02:59I think the executive order is an extremely important first step in countering the threats

03:04posed by the ICC. It allows the President to impose powerful sanctions against anyone

03:10who directly engages in the effort by the ICC to detain Americans or our allies who

03:15are not subject to ICC jurisdiction. Those sanctions were long overdue, and it's vital

03:21that they be enforced and widened. The prosecutor with whom Erdogan met has already been sanctioned.

03:28Last year, Turkish officials and lawyers sought to provide evidence to the ICC against Israel.

03:34One of those officials was a former Turkish lawmaker from Erdogan's party. Are you concerned

03:40that officials linked to Erdogan and the Turkish government are directly boosting the ICC's

03:44attack against Israel? Senator, thanks for the rendition of facts that I'm actually not

03:53aware of in any classified format. My intent is try and get prepared to look forward on

04:00issues that are impending and that I'll have some ability to actually dissect and understand,

04:07so I can't really render an opinion on facts I don't have in front of me. Well, I'll follow

04:14up with you in writing and ask for more views. Mr. Fertitta, you talked in your opening

04:21statement about the economic opportunities between the United States and Italy and expanding

04:28those opportunities. Share your thoughts on the best opportunities for growth, for more

04:32trade and commerce between America and Italy. Well, there's a – thank you, Senator, so

04:38much. There's 2,500 companies doing America, doing business in Italy from America, and

04:47we need to bring more companies over there, and we need to sell more goods to Italy. It's

04:54not only Italy that has wonderful products, but the United States of America does, too,

05:01and so one of my huge goals is going to be to get even more companies over there and

05:07at the same time find a way for the companies that are doing business there to do even more

05:13business with the Italian government and the citizens of Italy. Well, and I can personally

05:20attest that last night you were already doing your part with Senator Kelly and me in providing

05:26us both with some very fine Italian wine. So for the record, they do an excellent job

05:31of that. Thank you, Senator Groves. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Senator Scott.

Ted Cruz Presses Ambassador Nominee On 'Collision Course' Between US, Turkey Over ICC Arrest Warrant

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