...The prosecutors had hoped to find a receptive partner in the administration of President Barack Obama, particularly as the American public had widely condemned the war on terror tactics of his predecessor. But U.S. officials unequivocally warned the court that opposition to the investigation of American crimes was bipartisan. With political opposition from the strongest party to the conflict, the preliminary inquiry in Afghanistan dragged along for a decade. In 2017, with President Donald Trump newly in office, Bensouda finally moved to formally request the court’s permission to launch an official investigation. In 2019, the ICC’s pretrial chamber, the body tasked with authorizing a formal investigation, denied such authorization — an unprecedented decision that cited, among other things, the “political climate” surrounding the probe.

“We all read between the lines,” Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights who represents victims of U.S. torture, told The Intercept, noting that the statement clearly referenced “the political pressure that the Trump administration has put on the court.” ...

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