European Union bureaucrats are rushing to defend the International Criminal Court — a global tribunal whose own chief prosecutor is banned from practicing law in his home country — after the Trump administration announced a sweeping campaign to dismantle the Hague-based institution and shield American sovereignty.

The clash lays bare the fundamental question: will the United States submit to foreign legal authority over its citizens, or stand alone as a sovereign nation? The EU insists the ICC poses no threat. The court's own scandals and its pursuit of warrants against American and Israeli personnel tell a different story.

EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni declared Tuesday that "attacks or threats against the court, elected officials, personnel or those cooperating with the court are simply not acceptable." He insisted the ICC "does not target sovereign states, nor does it constitute a threat to their sovereignty," claiming it only "exercises jurisdiction over individuals, perpetrators of the most serious crimes."

Tell that to the American servicemen and border agents Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned could be "dragged before an international court" and tried by foreign judges. In a video published Monday, Rubio said the court "threatens every aspect of our political and legal system." The State Department announced a "wide range of actions" to hobble the tribunal, including pressuring other nations to withdraw and applying "increased scrutiny" to countries that refuse while taking American aid — a category that could include Ukraine, where the ICC opened an investigation after Russia's invasion.

The Guardian framed Rubio's warnings as a "mischaracterisation," quoting Human Rights Watch's Kenneth Roth, who claimed "the ICC is not claiming jurisdiction over conduct in the United States." But Roth's own words undermine his case — he concedes the court claims jurisdiction over "crimes committed on their territory" of member states, which could sweep in American military operations abroad. The United States never signed the Rome Statute. The court has no legitimate claim over Americans, period.

Meanwhile, the ICC's own house is in disorder. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the British Standards Board upheld the suspension of ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual misconduct allegations. Khan is now banned from practicing law in the United Kingdom. According to whistleblower documents, Khan allegedly moved a female aide into his office, asked her to rest with him on a hotel bed, then "sexually touched her." Other alleged conduct included locking his office door and sticking his hand in her pocket, and repeatedly asking her to accompany him on vacation. The ICC's oversight body has already concluded Khan committed serious misconduct and recommended his removal. A final decision comes July 24.

This is the institution the EU wants America to trust — a court whose top prosecutor stands accused of preying on his own staff, whose mandate has been weaponized against Israel and American personnel in Afghanistan, and whose European defenders insist it poses no threat while claiming power over citizens of countries that never consented to its jurisdiction.

The Trump administration has already sanctioned 11 ICC officials — including Khan and eight judges — leaving them grappling with cancelled credit cards, frozen tech accounts, and travel bans. Rubio's escalation signals half-measures are over.

The EU can keep its kangaroo court. The question now is whether countries cashing American taxpayer checks will be forced to choose between U.S. aid and membership in a tribunal that claims the right to prosecute Americans. That's a choice they should have to make.