Video Infoblog: U.S. Hypocrisy Laid Bare as Biden Admin Claims ICC Can’t Prosecute Israel for War Crimes
The Biden administration is claiming the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction to charge Israeli officials for war crimes. This comes after rumors that the ICC may be close to issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials over possible crimes in Gaza. The International Court of Justice has rejected a request by Nicaragua to order Germany to halt exporting arms to Israel, but the court declined to throw out the case. For more, we speak with human rights attorney and war crimes prosecutor Reed Brody, who says ICC charges would be a “huge” development. “Since Nuremberg, no international tribunal has issued an arrest warrant for a Western official. For decades, we’ve had this double standard where international justice has only been effective for crimes committed by leaders of developing countries or by enemies of the U.S. like Vladimir Putin,” says Brody.
Transcript
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this is democracy now democracynow.org
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I'm Amy Goodman with Juan Gonzalez
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prosecutors from the international
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criminal court have interviewed staff
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from gaza's two biggest hospitals
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according to Reuters and what's being
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described as the first confirmation that
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ICC investigators are speaking to Medics
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about possible war crimes committed by
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Israel and Gaza Palestinian officials
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have demanded investigations after
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hundreds of bodies were exhumed in Mass
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Graves at Nasa and shifa Hospital
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following Israeli raids on the medical
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centers on Tuesday Israeli Prime
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Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to
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news the ICC may be close to issuing
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arrest warrants for him and other
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Israeli
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officials the international criminal
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court in the he is contemplating issuing
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arrest warrants against senior Israeli
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government and military officials as war
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criminals this would be an outrage of
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historic proportions this comes as the
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international court of justice has
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rejected a request by Nicaragua to order
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Germany to Halt exporting arms to Israel
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but the icj declined to throw the case
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out entirely Nicaragua is Accused
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Germany of violating the genocide
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convention by providing military and
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financial aid to Israel for more we go
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to Reed Brody a war crimes prosecutor
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author of te cat a dictator the pursuit
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and trial of hin habre he's joining us
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from Barcelona Spain Reed can you first
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talk about this possibility that uh
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prime minister Netanyahu and others may
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be charged by the international criminal
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court and the US saying that the
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international criminal court doesn't
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have the jurisdiction to do
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this well of course this would be huge
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Amy the international criminal court has
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never issued an arrest warrant for a
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western official indeed since norenberg
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no International tribunal has issued an
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arrest warrant for a western official
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for for decades we've had this double
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standard where International justice has
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only been effective for crimes committed
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by leaders of developing countries or or
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by enemies of the US like like Vladimir
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Putin um we don't know if if if this is
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true but this would be a huge red line I
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mean there's you know the Palestinians
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have been and Raji serani has been on
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your show a number of times have been
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fighting for 15 years to bring the icc's
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attention to alleged Israeli war crimes
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it back in
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including illegal settlements in the
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West Bank and the ICC under three
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successive prosecutors has given this
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slow walk um to those complaints and it
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was always assumed that this prosecutor
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Kareem Khan a British barister who came
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in with American Support uh would was
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very reticent would never actually cross
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that red line and indict an Israeli
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official but I think the overwhelming
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evidence of atrocities the the
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disproportionate attacks the
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indiscriminate attacks the collective
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punishment of the people of Gaza the
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international condemnation um and
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frankly also the genocide case brought
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by South Africa at the other court in
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the ha the icj that resulted in a ruling
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by the icj essentially that Israel had a
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case to answer these have all made it
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untenable now for the IC not to act now
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of course the US position
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as you've said is that the ICC does not
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have jurisdiction because Israel has not
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ratified the ICC treaty this is the
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historic position that the US argued 25
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years ago when we were drafting the ICC
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Statute in Rome but the US was
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overwhelmingly outvoted and the ICC has
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jurisdiction over Nationals of countries
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that have ratified so-called State
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parties but also it has jurisdiction
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over crimes committed on the territory
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of states that have given authorization
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and so uh you know when but but we saw
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uh under uh the previous ICC prosecutor
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when when she opened investigations into
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Afghanistan that potentially implicated
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American uh war crimes when she finally
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opened an investigation into Israel
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Palestine that the Trump Administration
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sanctioned the IC for its tarity in
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investigating
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uh act by by officials of non-state
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parties and even when those um uh
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sanctions were lifted by the Biden
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Administration the US said we don't
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believe the ICC has jurisdiction over
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Nationals of non-state parties but then
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Russia invaded Ukraine and Russia began
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committing massive war crimes and then
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when the ICC be and of course Russia is
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also a non-state party and when the ICC
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began to invest tigate Russia and issued
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an arrest warrant for for Vladimir Putin
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the US celebrated that um so it's now
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for the us to go back and say well we we
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we we we loved it when you did it with
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Putin but we think you're crossing a red
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line when you do it with Israel of
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course that's just
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hypocrisy uh Reed I wanted to ask you
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one of the Israeli officials who spoke
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to the New York Times said that the
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possibility of the Court issuing arrest
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warrants has been guiding Israeli
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decision making in recent weeks uh
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what's the significance of
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this well it shows actually that Israel
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is worried about this um obviously they
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can't undo crimes uh that have already
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been committed but many people say well
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you know what's the big deal I mean
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Netanyahu I mean in fact the ICC in 20
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years has never actually got its hands
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on prosecuted and convicted any state
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official anywhere but the fact is that
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if the IC issues this arrest warrant as
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and and the Furious diplomatic
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maneuvering that's going on suggesting
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suggest that it may be imminent of
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course it represents first of all a
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profound moral rebuke uh for it for for
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Israeli actions it makes it impossible
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for people to say uh that Israel's
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actions uh comport with the law um it
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also means that Benjamin Netanyahu uh
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could never if if he's one of the people
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indicted could never travel to an ICC
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State party for the rest of his life he
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could never go to Europe um but it also
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you know it also suggests that
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ultimately any Israeli official involved
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in these kinds of activities down the
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line could potentially also uh be be
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subject to an ICC uh investigation
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indictment so it really hopefully uh
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would have not only a protective effect
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on the past but a dissuasive effect
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effect on on Israel's actions in the
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future Reed Brody I wanted to ask you um
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about what's coming up this summer you
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we're speaking to you in Barcelona you
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know of course Colombia uh just uh
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allowed police to raid the campus
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hundreds of students have been arrested
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we're moving into yet another Chicago
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Democratic Convention you wrote your
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college thesis on uh choosing what
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happens when uh a presidential candidate
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um um um drops out uh at the last minute
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and what that means can you make some
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parallels from 68 to
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today well sure I mean in 1968 we saw
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that the Democrats in Chicago nominated
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yubert Humphrey um who is Lyndon
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Johnson's vice president and a proar
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candidate even though he had never won
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any presidential primary even though
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Robert F Kennedy before he was
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assassinated Eugene McCarthy had Ed all
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the votes and so you had this massive
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protest uh against a Democratic
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candidate who was pursuing a very imp
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poopular war and so the whole primary uh
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the whole Democratic selection process
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was was renovated uh and so that you now
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have primaries that and caucuses that
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result in pledged delegates uh the
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unfortunate for the moment uh result of
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that is that Joe Biden uh has now
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accumulated
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uh enough pledged delegates um to the
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Democratic Convention so that no matter
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how unpopular he is among Democrats no
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matter how uh unpopular he is as a
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candidate um he has enough delegates um
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to to secure the nomination the only way
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that he can really um be removed as a
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Democratic candidate um is if he were to
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step down uh in which case all of the
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delegates who are pledged to vote for
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him on the first ballot um would then be
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released and you'd have uh other
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candidates who could step
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in well we're going to leave it there um
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but I want to thank you for being with
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us Reed Brody is a war crimes prosecutor
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and author of to catch a dictator the
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pursuit and trial of H H we're going to
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continue the conversation and post
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online at democracynow.org and also talk
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about the icj decision the international
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court of justice um I'm Amy Goodman with
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Juan Gonzalez democracy Now is produced
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with Mike Burke Renee Fels Dina guzer
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Tru [ __ ] kadus Messiah rhods ning Shake
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Maria terasa Tammy waren Jina nadura Sam
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alov tamaria John Hamilton Robbie Karen
9:39
hany massud Hannah elas our executive
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directors Julie Crosby special thanks to
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Becca staly John Randolph Paul Powell
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Mike defilippo Miguel Nera Hugh Gran
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Dennis moan David prud Dennis McCormack
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Matt elely Anna Ock our website is
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democracynow.org you can get our
9:56
podcasts there thank you so much for
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joining us
