Photograph Source: Dan Scavino – Public Domain
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump are brothers in crime. They both have faced criminal and civil charges in their own countries: Netanyahu for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust; and Trump for sexual abuse, falsifying business records to make a hush money payment, election interference and the mishandling of classified government documents.
The corruption cases against Netanyahu are ongoing in the Jerusalem District Court. At the same time, the Israeli President has submitted a pardon request to Israel’s President and has entered into plea deal negotiations with Israel’s Attorney General. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant to Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza war.
Trump likewise has so far managed to escape incarceration for the criminal charges he has faced, including the hush-money and election interference cases. More specifically, here is a rundown on the various cases against the President.
He has one criminal conviction still on the books: the New York hush-money case that resulted in a 2024 conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to make that payment. He received an “unconditional discharge” due to his then incoming presidency. The conviction remains on his record without any penalties.
The Georgia election interference case was dismissed in November 2025, after the Georgia Court of Appeal removed the original prosecutor Fani Willis. After several other prosecutors declined the case, the last appointee decided the State would not be served by litigating for another five to ten years. Meanwhile. Trump’s second term election saved him from federal prosecution for the classified documents and January 6 attack on the Capitol cases. It also caused Special Prosecutor Jack Smith to drop the federal case against those trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump was not so fortunate in the first E. Jean Carroll (sexual abuse and defamation cases). The Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal of a $5 million jury award. In the second case Trump’s appeal of an award of $83.3 million (for defamation) is pending in the Supreme Court.
In a separate case, a New York appeals court voided as excessive the roughly $500 million penalty for civil fraud, but agreed that Trump, his company and two of his sons had committed business fraud. The State Attorney General then requested the Court of Appeals to reinstate the penalty. With the appellate judges split on fraud liability, there has been no final decision.
Trump 80 and Netanyahu 77 are close in age. Both attended high school in the U.S, Trump in New York; Netanyahu in Philadelphia. Trump has a White evangelical base that mostly supports Israel. His son-in-law Jared Kushner comes from an Orthodox Jewish family, and he relies heavily on wealthy pro-Israel donors. No surprise that Trump developed a close relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu.
While the personal domestic charges cited above pertain to the individuals alone, both men are subject to some outstanding and potential charges for their actions internationally. The Israeli Prime Minister already faces charges by International Criminal Court (ICC) for his attacks on civilians, denial of food aid, and campaign of starvation against Palestinians in Gaza. Under the Rome Statute, ICC members have a legal obligation to arrest him if he should enter a member state.
Netanyahu’s collaboration with Trump in his illegal war-of-choice invasion of Iran and Israel’s attacks on civilian populations in Lebanon may earn the Prime Minister additional charges of war crimes and should similarly make Trump accountable, especially for deaths of some 74,000, including roughly 22,000 children in Gaza. In Lebanon, Israel has killed over 4,000 people since March 2, 2026. That number includes more than 200 children and 120 medical personnel. A brokered ceasefire in mid-April has not stopped either Israeli or Hezbollah attacks.
For his part in continuing the lethal arms transfers started by Biden, Trump could face charges under the 1949 Genocide Convention. Article III (e) includes under punishable acts, “Complicity in genocide.” More Trump-approved U.S. shipments of 2,000 bombs are reportedly in the works.
Over the past two years Trump has authorized lethal attacks on fishing boats in the Caribbean off Venezuela and in the Pacific Ocean, off Columbia. To date, more than 200 boatmen have died from American missiles and drones. Without evidence of drug running, the U.S has ignored the usual practice of interdicting and detaining boats and crews suspected of transporting illicit drugs. Thus, such attacks, still continuing, amount to extrajudicial killing (murders), for which Trump should be held accountable.
Beyond America’s indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure in Iran is the atrocious Tomahawk missile attack on a girls’ school in Minab that killed at least 165 students, parents, and staff on February 28, the first day of the war, and the U.S. bombing that killed at least 21 teenage volleyball players and a two-year-old child at the Lamerd sports hall the same day. Trump, as Commander in Chief, and the soldiers who participated in the attacks may someday be held accountable.
Like dictators of old, Netanyahu and Trump have abused state power to kill and maim their enemies. Whether of not they ever face prosecution, the crimes of both men should be denounced.
