June 7, 2024

"Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney called one of President Biden’s top aides last month to complain about the president’s criticism of the International Criminal Court’s action against Israeli leaders..."

"... a case his wife, Amal Clooney, worked on, according to three people familiar with the conversation. Clooney called Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, to express concern about Biden’s denunciation of arrest warrants sought by ICC prosecutors for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, especially his use of the word 'outrageous.'... The actor was also upset about the administration’s initial openness to imposing sanctions on the ICC because his wife might be subject to the penalties, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation. Clooney’s call came just weeks before he is set to appear at a fundraiser for Biden’s reelection campaign June 15 in Los Angeles. His concerns spread throughout Biden’s orbit.... In 2020, [George Clooney] donated more than $500,000 to Biden’s campaign effort and co-hosted a virtual fundraiser for him that raised $7 million.... The White House later said sanctions against the ICC were 'not the right answer'...."

From "George Clooney called White House to defend wife’s work on Israel warrants/Biden had sharply criticized a move by the International Criminal Court to issue warrants for Israeli leaders" (WaPo).

76 comments:

wendybar said...

Wahhhhh.
She should be treated like everybody else. Why is she special?? Because she married him??

Kay said...

So what’s the change in policy?

Dave Begley said...

What a joke. How does the ICC propose to arrest Bibi?

RNB said...

I understand that in olden times (like the Elizabethan Age), actors were considered just one run on the social ladder above prostitutes. Now they get treated like royalty.

Narayanan said...

is ICC warrant like fatwah by mullah?

mindnumbrobot said...

Well, that is how it works: you pay, er, I mean contribute for access.

Ice Nine said...

A fucking actor trying to make US foreign policy! Can you imagine? (Well, yes...$500K worth of yes, I guess.)

rehajm said...

Reading this I had a hard time understanding what side all the players were on. I suspect that was intentional. Nice job WaPo

MadisonMan said...

Careful George. You don't want the DoJ starting to dig into your -- and your wife's -- finances.

Meade said...

wendybar said...
“Wahhhhh.
She should be treated like everybody else. Why is she special?? Because she married him??“

Wull, isn’t that why you all treat Althouse so special? (Never mind. Don’t answer that )

narciso said...

the ICC is a criminal organization on behalf of Hamas, in this instance,

Michael K said...

How do you say "pussy whipped" in Arabic ?

Enigma said...

Leftist movements always end when they eat their own.

Narcissistic actors want to be the center of attention and the "decider."

Other obvious stuff: The sky is blue. Grass is green. Dog bites man.

narciso said...

the ICC complaint as much as you can call it that, was criminally flawed, melanie phillips has the receipts, but as with all these endeavours, the facts are beside the point

gilbar said...

when you've Lost George Clowny.. You've Lost the moronic idiot vote!

Quaestor said...

Herr Gruppenführer Klunengruber reveals his true colors, feldgrau mostly.

Rusty said...

Michael K said...
"How do you say "pussy whipped" in Arabic ?"

OK that was good.

Quaestor said...

"Wull, isn’t that why you all treat Althouse so special?"

You deserve a slow plucking, Meade.

The Cracker Emcee said...

I like it! It trivializes everyone involved.

Maybe Clooney's wife is a Mossad plant.

gilbar said...

I was wondering WHY George's wife was working on this case?
from Wikipedia..
George's wife, أمل كلوني; (born 3 February 1978) is a British international human rights lawyer

now it makes a little more sense

n.n said...

Murder, rape, rape-rape, and torture-torture in the pursuit of social justice is no ethical vice. That said, here's to another 100 years of Hamas et al and empathetic interests progress to clear the land and push Jews into the sea in an ethnic Spring. #HateLovesAbortion

technochitlin said...

I cannot WAIT for the collapse of Hollywood so these morons can resume their traditional societal status- right up there with vagabonds and Gypsies. Dance for me, monkey, dance!

n.n said...

Leftist movements always end when they eat their own.

There can be only one, a sympathetic minority, and a majority who take a knee in the single/central/monopolistic, authoritarian left-wing model of governance.

mccullough said...

The Muslims will chop off the Clooneys heads someday.

The ICC is a joke.

narciso said...

how do the druze, that miss alamadeen fair in hezbollah controlled lebanon, I thought so,

Achilles said...

We really need the ICC to try to arrest Netanyahu. The entire globalist regime needs to be brought down. The ICC and the UN need to go and everyone in them buried at he bottom of the ocean.

By the way the United States if funding a color revolution in Israel right now to oust Netanyahu. There are half a dozen US sponsored "leaders" in Israel undermining him right now interviewing to be the next Zelensky.

Similar things are happening in Brazil, Africa, Georgia, Poland, Hungary, a dozen countries in Africa, Mexico etc.

You just don't hear about it because US media tries to cover it up.

Joe Smith said...

Is this like the FOB (Friends of Bill) who had a hotline into the Oval Office?

So much white privilege here.

Derve Swanson said...
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Derve Swanson said...
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Derve Swanson said...
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narciso said...

the Janjaweed, they call themselves the RSF now, waging their war in Darfur, so what's changed, the Congolese warlords eventually their due,

effinayright said...

I've wondered exactly what Ms.Clooney contributions has made to the cases she's been supposedly involved in.

Has she personally authored briefs? Argued and won cases in any court, not just the ICC?

Anyone know?

effinayright said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Real American said...

The ICC has no jurisdiction over the US or Israel and its warrants aren't worth the paper they're printed on. It's just another anti-Semitic international bureaucracy.

narciso said...

the UN the EU the component nations are all implicated in Hamas butchery, the former creates the shaheeds through UNWRA propaganda,

gspencer said...

Clooney and his uxor,

Lets talk about privileged people, shall we?

Rory said...

"I cannot WAIT for the collapse of Hollywood so these morons can resume their traditional societal status- right up there with vagabonds and Gypsies."

Drop the copyright period back down to match the 20-year patent period, and watch 'em scramble.

Butkus51 said...

He's no Ashton Kutcher.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Just who does Clooney think he is... Kevin Costner?

narciso said...

it it wasn't for weinstein he'd still be remembered for the attack of the killer tomato sequels,

Leland said...

I guess we can't ask him to check his privilege?

Skeptical Voter said...

Tough noogies George. Who gives a flying flip what you think about foreign affairs--or course you can have your own "foreign affair" with your wife. Nobody's stopping you.

Otherwise, put a sock in it.

Goldenpause said...

Did Clooney think that he could make such a call and it wouldn’t leak to the press? Now his Biden fund raiser looks like a bribe. Nice going, George.

Rocco said...

gilbar said...
"I was wondering WHY George's wife was working on this case?
from Wikipedia..
George's wife, أمل كلوني; (born 3 February 1978) is a British international human rights lawyer.
"

I remember a guy's blog where he linked to an article about a young woman who had been working for an NGO or rights advocacy organization for about 5 years now, and was complaining about the low pay. Yes, this was a long time ago.

His response was to say that there is an unrecognized anonymous industrial engineer somewhere in the bowels of a diaper making company that figured out how to use 1% less water in the manufacturing process. And with that act, that guy has done more for humanity (and the environment) than miss "perky blouse" (as he called her) will do in her lifetime.

Big Mike said...

Money talks, and $500,000 in direct contributions, plus an additional $7 million raised via fundraisers, speaks very, very loudly to a grifter like Joe Biden.

doctrev said...

"Don't underestimate Joe Biden's ability..." Barack Hussein Obama warned years ago, and in the specific context he mentioned I never have. Antagonizing the Clooneys and their considerable left-wing fan base has never been a wise policy for a Democrat. He's considerably more popular than Biden is, even aside from the liberal internationalism his "crusading" wife represents.

Now, if Amal Clooney takes back Jerusalem for Jesus Christ and the Cyber-Templar, that's the kind of crusading I can get behind! Until then, I will continue to be greatly amused.

William said...

Speaking out against Israel is somewhat tougher for an actor to do than speaking out against America or, God forbid, endorsing a Republican. I don't agree with Clooney, but I give him points such a stand. I'm not supportive of Vanessa Redgrave either, but I do give her more credit than Jane Fonda. I'm pretty sure that if Jane spoke her mind, she would say lots of nasty things about Israel, but she knows how roles get offered in Hollywood. There's no penalty for speaking out against America, but it's prudent to keep criticisms of Israel muted.....On the reverse side, I'm glad Seinfeld made his support of Israel known. The left in Hollywood, including the Jews there, have been muted not just in their criticism of Israel but also their support of that country. I don't think it's all that complicated. Hamas wants to murder and rape Israelis. Israel wants to destroy Hamas so that they don't murder and rape Israelis.

Aggie said...

"Joe, George has called, and he says you're threatening Our Democracy !"

Iman said...

Clooney ain’t bona fide and he ain’t been in a tight spot in several years.

Mikey NTH said...

Anything to keep peace in the home, George? $7,000,000 is nice, but it doesn't go far these days.

Bob Boyd said...

Bibi called up his jet fighters, he said, "You better earn your pay
Drop your bombs between the minarets, down the casbah way
Biden told the boogie men "Those bombs are gonna fall...oh
Hang on a minute fellas, I gotta take this call"

The Clooneys don't like it
Rock the casbah, rock the casbah
They think it's not kosher
Rock the casbah, rock the casbah

Ambrose said...

“Hey, don’t worry Amal. I know a guy. “

Quaestor said...

(ping!)

Meade: "Ouch!"

(ping!)

Meade: "Ouch! Stop it!"

(ping!)

Meade: "Ouch!"

Quaestor: "Not yet."

(ping!)

Quaestor: I need a nice red one for my MAGA cap.

(ping!)

Meade: "Ouch!"

rehajm said...

Extra value is what you get when you buy a liberal politician…

Leland said...

If George Clooney is calling up the White House to collude in prosecuting Netanyahu, who thinks that didn’t happen to conspire to get Trump? Rosie O’Donnell was texting Cohen during the trial.

tommyesq said...

A fucking actor trying to make US foreign policy! Can you imagine?

Trying??? Seems like he succeeded.

chickelit said...

Young, white, college “ladies” are already in bed with Hamas (so dreamy!); if anyone can seduce the older female cohort, it’s George Clooney.

Quaestor said...

"award-winning actor"

Quaestor proposes a new Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award. Not an Oscar, this one will be called a Stuffy. Recipients will be recognized and honored for all foolishly partisan, historically discredited, logically invalid, and ignorantly hostile opinions withheld from publication or expression of any kind. To qualify, all a motion picture actor need do is to show up for work on time, deliver a performance as directed, and then shut the fuck up.

PM said...

Cloonless.

Rusty said...

"I was wondering WHY George's wife was working on this case?
from Wikipedia..
"George's wife, أمل كلوني; (born 3 February 1978) is a British international human rights lawyer.""

So. A grifter.

Skeptical Voter said...

Touogh noogies George. No one cares what you think about international affairs.

Aggie said...

"Hail Ceasar", the movie wherein Clooney plays himself.

narciso said...

https://www.fdd.org/analysis/op_eds/2024/06/01/what-is-hamas-hiding-in-rafah-and-why-doesnt-biden-want-the-idf-to-find-it/

Robert Cook said...

"Hamas wants to murder and rape Israelis. Israel wants to destroy Hamas so that they don't murder and rape Israelis."

Sounds familiar (paraphrasing for brevity):

"The money-grubbing (and Marxist) Jews want to destroy German shop-keepers, farmers and businesses via usury (as they have done in other world cities), they attack and beat German citizens in the streets, and sexually defile German children, etc. Germany wants to destroy the sub-human Jews so they don't bankrupt German business or impoverish, murder, and rape German citizens or pollute German bloodlines."

And, of course, such inflammatory rhetoric and hate-mongering has been employed countless times by one or more parties of humans to justify the infliction of countless numbers of such campaigns of brutal violence and mass murder against one or more parties of other human beings, all around the world and all through human history.

Whatever you want to tell yourself to justify genocidal mass murder.

Jupiter said...

"Academy Award winner"? Like, ka-Wow! He won an academy award. From an academy, no doubt. Did he get A's in any tough classes? Yeah, I thought not. He never took and hard classes.

narciso said...

those summer rentals at Lake Como won't sell themselves, the area was featured in Quantum of Solace then Oceans 12, and most recently Tenet

chickelit said...

Rory said...Drop the copyright period back down to match the 20-year patent period, and watch 'em scramble.

I'll second that!

EdwdLny said...

Well George, maybe you shouldn't have married an antisemite. And if those are the kind of people she works for and/or with maybe you should have a conversation with her. Or are you comfortable with her stance ? If so that raises many other questions.

Uticn said...

Hasn’t this already been adjudicated by Nuremberg? The decision there was that civilian deaths during legitimate anti military action is legal while specifically targeting civilians is a capital punishment offense (see Otto Ohlendorf, leader of Einsatzgruppen D). Does the ICC have precedence over Nuremberg?

PM said...

Biden: "Oooh! I love Rosemary!"

Meade said...

Hahaha. I’m going to find a giant puffball the size of a small puffball in our backyard this fall, name it Quaestor the Jaestor, bring it in the house, fry it up in fresh Wisconsin butter and eat it. All in your honor, Quaestor!

walter said...

Appeal to authority.

mikee said...

I, for one, await a day when "genocide" again means actually trying to kill a population, and succeeding, rather than meaning "winning a war." Israeli war of "genocide" of the Palestinians has neither the intent nor the result of killing as many civilians as possible. Were it not for the perfidy of Hamas using human shields, even fewer civilian Gazans would die in Israeli attacks on Hamas.

That is one reason I recommend unconditional surrender of the entire Hamas organization and all supporters, including the entire population of Gaza, as a prerequisite for the end of hostilities. It will help end the likes of Cook saying the Jews are today's Nazis, a blood libel worthy of Goebbels at his worst.

Aggie said...

@Meade said: "Hahaha. I’m going to find a giant puffball the size of a small puffball in our backyard this fall, name it Quaestor the Jaestor, bring it in the house, fry it up in fresh Wisconsin butter and eat it...."

Don't forget the fava beans.

Tina Trent said...

Isn't it weird how human rights lawyers always get caught defending rape and torture?

Maybe she likes it rough in the bedroom.

I say this with disgust.

Oro Valley Tom said...

I'm always astonished by how cheaply politicians sell themselves.