We believe it is lawful and appropriate for the United States to assist the court’s investigation of Russian war crimes. One provision of the ASPA, drafted by one of us and known as the Dodd Amendment, specifically permits the United States to assist international efforts to bring to justice “foreign nationals” who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. Another provision, added when the other of us was a White House lawyer, provides that the ASPA does not interfere with the president’s constitutional authority to take actions to help the Court in specific cases. These exceptions would clearly allow the United States to share intelligence information about Russian offenses, to allow expert investigators and prosecutors to assist, and to provide law enforcement and diplomatic support to the Court.

U.S. support for an ICC investigation of Russian war crimes would not constitute a double standard or be inconsistent with U.S. objections to the court’s claimed jurisdiction over U.S. personnel. The United States can help the court in appropriate cases while still strongly opposing ICC investigations (including of U.S. personnel) that do not meet the court’s strict threshold requirements. The ICC was created to prosecute only the most serious international crimes that are not addressed by the nations that commit them, not to investigate every allegation of misconduct.