U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday authorized sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC) officials engaged in an investigation into possible war crimes by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Trump also authorized the expansion of visa restrictions against ICC officials and their family members.
The statement criticized the ICC as an "unaccountable and ineffective international bureaucracy" that pursues "politically-motivated" investigations against the United States and its allies.
Top officials of the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Pentagon chief Mark Esper, Attorney General William Barr, and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, attended a press briefing later in the day at the State Department to denounce the ICC as well as its efforts to probe U.S. actions in Afghanistan.
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