© AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteRep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021.
"To me, there is staggering evidence that Putin and Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine. I believe we should fully support an investigation into those crimes, and the best way to do that is to support the body that will carry out that investigation, the International Criminal Court," Omar said in a statement to Insider.
"It would be staggeringly hypocritical to support an ICC investigation into Russia, while opposing the court's very existence as a non-member," she continued.
Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, introduced a resolution on Thursday calling for the US to become a member of the ICC, an international body based in The Hague, Netherlands, that investigates genocides, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
The resolution came after President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal and called for a war crimes trial against him after reports of atrocities committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
The New York Times reported earlier this week the Biden administration was debating how involved the US should be in an ICC investigation into Russia.
Comment: There's very little chance the US will join the ICC. As long as they continue to not recognize the body, they can ignore any ruling it has on US war crimes (or Israel's). They'll likely continue to simply pretend the body doesn't exist.
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