For the first time ever, a US-based organization has formally asked the International Criminal Court to investigate a former US president for possible complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to a website.

The 172-page filing by Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) alleges that several figures — including former President Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin — aided and abetted Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

“This case may face political backlash, but that doesn’t change the message it sends: impunity is not a given,” Reed Brody, a war crimes prosecutor and DAWN board member, told Zeteo. “If the rule of law is to mean anything, it must apply across the board—not just to our enemies, but to our friends, and yes, to ourselves.”

"We are at a turning point," he added. "The question is whether the ICC and international law will bury more victims under the rubble of Gaza."

"Heinous crimes that were ignored"

The DAWN files, known as the Article 15 Communication, show how US officials provided sustained military and diplomatic support to Israel despite knowing that its aid was being used to commit the type of alleged war crimes for which the International Criminal Court has issued warrants against Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. As such, DAWN alleges, US officials meet the legal standard of “aiding and abetting” such crimes.

This U.S. support included at least $17.9 billion in arms transfers, intelligence sharing, and targeting assistance—and U.S. abstentions from several U.N. resolutions calling for a ceasefire, hostage agreement, or increased humanitarian aid over a 15-month period. It also included repeatedly sending weapons to Israel without congressional review, including weapons used in alleged war crimes such as the killing of Hind Rajab.

“By providing continued and unconditional political and military support to Israel while fully aware of the specific crimes committed by Netanyahu, Galant, and their subordinates, President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and Secretary Austin knowingly contributed to the commission of those crimes while at least knowing the group’s intent to commit Israeli crimes, if not with the intent to further such criminal activity,” the dossier states.

“Not only have Biden, Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ignored overwhelming evidence of Israel’s heinous and deliberate crimes, they have overruled their own staff’s recommendations to halt arms transfers to Israel, and they have doubled down by providing Israel with unconditional military and political support to ensure it can carry out its atrocities,” Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s executive director, said in a statement from London.

The Biden administration has repeatedly defended its policy, and when pressed, has often retreated from its position that “Israel has the right to defend itself.” The administration has claimed that any civilian loss is unacceptable and that the US administration is “pressuring” its “partners in Israel” to improve their behavior. But it has taken almost no concrete steps to increase pressure on Israel.

For example, in May, Biden’s State Department acknowledged that Israel “likely” had used U.S. weapons in violation of international law—but it did not announce any policy change. Instead, it asserted that a state’s “general commitment” to international law “is not necessarily negated by individual violations, so long as that state takes appropriate steps to investigate and, where appropriate, establish accountability.”

The DAWN dossier also named other Biden administration officials, including former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, as individuals who should be investigated for potential responsibility for Israeli war crimes.

DAWN filed the request last month, the same day the ceasefire came into effect, but it was first announced on Monday. It has been supported by ICC-registered lawyers and war crimes experts.

The United States, like Israel, is not a member of the ICC, but DAWN claims the court has jurisdiction, citing the ICC's ongoing investigation into possible violations of the Rome Statute in Palestine.

Mounting evidence

The DAWN filing adds to a series of legal actions taken in response to the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. In January 2024, Palestinians and Palestinian-Americans filed a federal lawsuit against Blinken, accusing him and his then-administration of failing to enforce the Leahy Law, which prohibits the US from sending military assistance to foreign security forces that commit gross human rights abuses.

Several countries, including Spain, Ireland and Belgium, have joined the South African-led International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of genocide. The ICJ had already ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide (which Israel has continued to ignore since) while the case was ongoing.

Last year, a group of human rights organizations, Gaza residents, and American citizens whose families were affected by Israel’s military offensive sued Biden, Blinken, and Austin for failing to “prevent the unfolding genocide.” While a federal judge ruled that the court had no jurisdiction, he criticized the Biden administration, saying it was “plausible” that Israel’s conduct amounted to genocide, and urging the White House to “examine the consequences of their continued support for the military blockade against Palestinians in Gaza.”

In its petition, Democracy Now for All also called attention to the ongoing risks in a statement, pointing to President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing sanctions on ICC officials and his proposed plan to forcibly displace all Palestinians from Gaza. DAWN for All says these moves would also make Trump liable for “obstruction of justice” as well as “war crimes and the crime of aggression,” and merit an ICC investigation.

“This case is a message to our fellow Americans: Our government has been complicit in genocide, and we all have a responsibility to confront that reality and hold our leaders accountable,” Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at Democracy Now for All, told Zeto. “This is not just about Palestine; it’s about whether we, as Americans, accept a system where our leaders can facilitate mass atrocities without consequences.”