Trump Sued Over U.S. Sanctions on War Crimes Investigation

(Bloomberg) -- A group of law professors sued to block President Donald Trump's order sanctioning the International Criminal Court over its investigation of possible war crimes committed by the U.S. military in Afghanistan.

The four professors claimed in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court that the sanctions regime threatens them with as many as 20 years in prison if they provide advice and education to the ICC, as they have done in the past. According to the suit, which was filed with the the non-profit Open Society Justice Initiative, the order violates the professors' First Amendment rights.

The Justice Department didn't immediately return an email seeking comment.

The professors are Diane Marie Amann at the University of Georgia School of Law, Milena Sterio at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Margaret deGuzman at Temple University's Beasley School of Law and Gabor Rona at Cardozo School of Law.

In addition to their First Amendment claims, the professors say the vagueness of the June order and related regulations issued by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Wednesday violates the Fifth Amendment. They also claim the measures aren't authorized under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The case is Open Society Justice Initiative v. Trump, 20-cv-08121, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

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