United States Department of Justice
Criminal Division
Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section
Hope Olds, Chief
Via email only to Hope.Olds@usdoj.gov
Courtney Spivey Urschel, Deputy Chief
Via email only to Courtney.Urschel@usdoj.gov

Matthew Graves, Esq.
U.S. District Attorney
United States Attorney's Office
601 D Street, NW
Washington, DC 20579
Via email to matthew.graves@usdoj.gov

Dear Ms. Olds and Mr. Graves:

We the undersigned fully support the VFP's request for immediate empanelment of grand jury to investigate criminal violations of federal laws governing provision of military weapons and munitions aid to Israel, specifically whether U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew have:

1) lied to the U.S. Congress in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001;
2) violated the Export Control Act, 22 U.S.C. § 2778(a)(2) by misrepresenting and/or disregarding the contents of official U.S. government reports documenting acts by the government and military of Israel to block delivery of humanitarian assistance to the population of the Gaza Strip;
3) violated the Genocide Prevention Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1091, by failing to treat acts by the government and military of Israel of blocking delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip as furtherance of genocide of that population, and so attempting and/or conspiring to cause genocide of Palestinians;
4) violated the War Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2441 by failing to treat acts by the government and military of Israel to block delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip as genocidal and/or war crimes, and doing so in order to continue U.S. military aid to Israel to perpetrate offensive war crimes against the population of Gaza.

The group wrote that Blinken and Lew "appear to have violated the objectives of U.S. foreign policy against fomenting war, against allowing war crimes, and against the commission of human rights violations," which "enabled Israel to breach the Genocide Convention and the orders of the International Court of Justice."

Terry Lodge, VFP's human rights counsel, said in a statement Monday that "the Israeli military continues detonating massive bombs in southern Beirut—bombs they would not possess but for Antony Blinken's repeated violations of federal laws aimed at halting human rights and war crimes violations."

Susan Schnall, VFP's president, said Monday that U.S. military aid to Israel amounts to "a theft from millions of Americans who have none of the health insurance every Israeli enjoys; from millions of Americans living in horrific housing while Israel builds thousands of upscale homes on land stolen from Palestinians; from millions of young Americans can't afford college because America's top priorities are weapons and death, not human needs."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/blinken-lied-to-congress?utm_source=Common+Dreams&utm_campaign=a5653b6c5a-Top+News%3A+Mon.+9%2F30%2F2024&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-3b949b3e19-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

According to Drop Site News, Blinken approved policy to bomb aid trucks, which is in violation of International Humanitarian Law. IHL protects civilians and humanitarian workers during armed conflicts. The laws of war prohibit attacks that target civilians or civilian objects, or that are expected to cause disproportionate harm to civilians. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/blinken-approved-policy-bomb-aid-trucks?utm_source=substack&publication_id=2510348&post_id=149825536&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=3kszs1&triedRedirect=true

Leaked cables and emails show how the agency’s top officers dismissed internal evidence of Israelis misusing U.S.-made bombs and worked to supply more as the Gaza death toll mounted, Brett Murphy reports.
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/10/08/inside-the-state-departments-weapons-pipeline-to-israel/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=edf034f6-740e-41bf-a902-7777e9ba56f0

We, the undersigned, demand that the Justice Department do its job and hold our elected and appointed officials accountable for aiding and abetting Genocide within our Legal System. It's a High Crime in and of itself that the Justice Department turns a blind eye to the Crimes Against Humanity that one Administration after the other commits.

Most Sincerely,
Nuremberg Now and VFP Activists