Judge overrides US sanctions on UN official for backing Israel war crime charges

Albanese’s family challenged the Trump administration’s decision in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, saying the sanctions have caused “irreparable harms” in their personal and professional lives. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, appointed by President George W. Bush, ordered that Trump administration officials could not impose the sanctions on the U.N. official.

“Albanese has done nothing more than speak!” Leon wrote in his opinion. “It is undisputed that her recommendations have no binding effect on the ICC’s actions – they are nothing more than her opinion.”

Leon determined that Albanese, an Italian citizen, had enough substantial ties to the U.S. — considering the facts that she lived and worked here for several years, her daughter was born in the U.S., she owns a home in D.C., and she often travels to the country for her work — to conclude that she is granted First Amendment rights.

Leon opined that the sanctions had caused sufficient “irreparable harm” to Albanese, her husband, and her daughter, an American citizen, to warrant a preliminary injunction to halt their imposition. He pointed to effects on their property rights, her daughter’s ability to enter the country, and their familial relations, in his opinion.

“Plaintiffs face real, tangible harms as a result of Albanese’s designation,” Leon wrote.

The Washington Examiner has reached out to the State Department for comment on the ruling.

Albanese, who is still serving in her role with the U.N., celebrated the ruling, saying Leon’s decision “gives me respite but the battle is not over.”

“ICC judges and Palestinian NGOs remain sanctioned with no recourse to justice,” Albanese wrote on X. “The stakes are incredibly high.”