New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers a speech during his inauguration ceremony in New York City, US, Jan. 1, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani once again threatened to arrest Israel’s democratically elected leader on July 18, 2026, in an episode of The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast.

Yet when CNBC covered Mamdani’s threats to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 20 and subsequent walking back of those threats days later, the outlet failed to inform viewers that despite the politically charged rhetoric, International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants hold no authority in the United States, as it is not a signatory to the Rome Statute. Even when covering Mamdani’s retraction of his statements, CNBC failed to inform readers exactly why the NYC mayor’s threats were so invalid.

That simple fact alone, omitted from both CNBC’s broadcast and written coverage of the Mamdani threats and subsequent rebuttal from President Donald Trump, reduces the NYC mayor’s remarks to nothing more than political drivel. Without any legal context, CNBC left audiences with the impression that Mamdani’s threat reflected plausible legal action rather than political theater.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told the Times reporter, adding ineloquently and ambiguously that Netanyahu is “[a] war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.” Mamdani said he planned to carry out the arrest next time Netanyahu attends the United Nations General Assembly.

It wasn’t the first time Mamdani threatened to arrest Netanyahu. In September 2025, then-mayoral-candidate Mamdani told the Times that he would enforce the scandal-plagued ICC’s arrest warrant issued in November 2024. The warrant accuses Netanyahu of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza following the terrorist organization’s October 7, 2023 atrocities, including allegations that Israel deliberately deprived civilians of food and targeted the civilian population. Israel has denied the allegations.

“This is a moment where we cannot look to the federal government for leadership,” Mamdani stated on the warrant for Netanyahu. At the time, Matthew C. Waxman, a professor at Columbia Law School, said that Mamdani’s threats weren’t “[even] a close call. In my mind this statement is more a political stunt than a serious law-enforcement policy.”

Responding to the mayor’s latest threats, President Trump said on July 20 that “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested … while in the United States of America,” adding that the Israeli prime minister “is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recently killed 52,000 innocent protestors, and has spent the last 47 years killing American soldiers…” Still, Mamdani doubled down, stating on July 20 that Netanyahu is “the architect of the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza as Israel’s prime minister,” an accusation the ICC warrants themselves did not even allege. Even ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said earlier in 2026 that the court couldn’t provide enough evidence to accuse Netanyahu of genocide. Mamdani added that “If someone is charged with a warrant by the ICC for these kinds of crimes, that’s something I believe should be honored.”

In simple terms, Netanyahu cannot be arrested because the United States is not party to the Rome Statute. The Rome Statute of the ICC, formally enacted in 2002, grants ICC jurisdiction over the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. But the court can only exercise jurisdiction over its 125 ratified State Parties. Notably, neither the US nor Israel are signatories.

Therefore, Mamdani’s goal of fulfilling an ICC arrest warrant on United States soil holds no legal base in reality.

The Trump administration’s Ambassador the UN, Mike Waltz, rebuked the NYC mayor unambiguously on July 18:

Mayor Mamdani: here’s why your threat to arrest PM Netanyahu in NYC during UNGA is not going to happen:

1. The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC,

2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of gov’t,

3. Head-of-state immunity applies &

4. Federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.

“This is pure political theater” Waltz said. And he’s right.

The other aspects of Waltz’s argument also hold true. Both head of state immunity and UN Headquarters Agreement protections apply to heads of state, and federal law “preempts conflicting state or local measures, rendering them unenforceable,” according to recent federal legal overviews. So even if Mamdani wanted to arrest Netanyahu while he was in the UN building, the action is not feasible.

Now, the move is even threatening to land Mamdani in hot water legally, leading to the mayor releasing a vitriolic admission on July 21 stating that he did not have the power to arrest Netanyahu. One New York Assemblyman, Simcha Eichenstein, wrote to New York Attorney General Tish James on July 20 to examine whether Mamdani violated New York state law in ordering police to pursue the arrest of Netanyahu.

Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein asks New York AG Tish James to investigate whether Mamdani violated state law by ordering a city agency to explore arresting Netanyahu.

“New York’s Criminal Procedure Law… prohibits a mayor from directly ordering a local law enforcement agency to… pic.twitter.com/t71W2cR8eq

— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) July 20, 2026

Two relevant US laws may be relevant in this case. 22 U.S. Code § 7423 states that “no agency or entity of the United States Government or of any State or local government, including any court, may provide support to the International Criminal Court.”

Another statute, 18 U.S. Code § 112, states that “Whoever assaults, strikes, wounds, imprisons, or offers violence to a foreign official, official guest, or internationally protected person or makes any other violent attack upon the person or liberty of such person, or, if likely to endanger his person or liberty, makes a violent attack upon his official premises, private accommodation, or means of transport or attempts to commit any of the foregoing shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”

In short: Mamdani saw significant legal obstacles, and wound up quitting while he was ahead, leaving a libel-filled rant in the wake of his failed ambition to arrest the Israeli Prime Minister.

In any case, CNBC should know better than not including these key details in its reports. Some outlets did include this necessary legal context. CNN’s coverage included commentary from resident Senior Legal Analyst Eli Honig, who said that it was “utterly ridiculous for the mayor of New York City to even suggest that he might have the authority” to arrest Netanyahu. Honig correctly cited the Rome Statute, comments which CNN included in their coverage.

That is responsible reporting. But when CNBC updated their coverage to reflect the latest developments, mainly that Mamdani had admitted he could not arrest Netanyahu, the outlet still refused to explain to readers exactly why the mayor could not fulfill his threats. The words “Rome Statute” were not included once.

Outlets have the obligation to inform viewers of the whole picture, not just a small portion of it. As sensationalist as the prospect of an NYC mayor arresting the democratically elected leader of a foreign country is for clicks and views, omitting the key facts which make Mamdani’s points moot is irresponsible, and a disservice to CNBC’s constituents, who may view the mayor’s threats with legitimacy after reading and viewing the outlet’s report.

The author is a media researcher at CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis, where a version of this article first appeared.