Judges in Netanyahu trial confirm suggesting prosecution drop bribery charge
Justices issue official record of contents of meeting, note that the state’s representative rejected their appeal
Judges overseeing the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have released an official record of their meeting last week with the prosecution and defense, confirming that they privately advised prosecutors that the bribery charge against the premier will be difficult to prove.
The justices’ comments were widely publicized last week, leading supporters of the prime minister to claim they were proof the trial was a stitch-up and that the state’s case against Netanyahu was doomed (though the premier faces multiple other serious charges).
The state prosecution has since indicated it stands behind the bribery charge.
On Thursday, the judges issued a document in which they noted that at last week’s meeting, “the sides were informed of the panel’s position according to which there are difficulties in establishing the bribery offense in the first charge of the indictment.
“Based on these difficulties, it was suggested that the state consider retracting the bribery charge,” the judges said, while noting they stressed “that these comments were being made with the necessary caution.”
The judges noted that the state’s representative pushed back against their suggestion, saying “the state sees things differently” and noting that “the court has so far been presented with only a partial picture.”
Following the leak of the judges meeting with the attorneys, prosecutors have asked that all interactions between the bench and legal parties henceforth be recorded.
The prosecutors filed their request on Sunday with the Jerusalem District Court, also asking to expedite Netanyahu’s long-running graft trial by adding hearing days next month.
Netanyahu faces a bribery charge only in one of the three cases against him, Case 4000, in which he is also accused of fraud and breach of trust in connection with the relations between the Bezeq telecom firm and the Communications Ministry under Netanyahu.
Known as the Bezeq-Walla case, Case 4000 focuses on allegations that Netanyahu authorized regulatory decisions that financially benefited Bezeq telecommunications giant shareholder Shaul Elovitch to the tune of hundreds of millions of shekels. In return, Netanyahu allegedly received favorable media coverage from the Walla news site owned by Elovitch.
Netanyahu is also on trial for two additional counts of fraud and breach of trust — in Case 1000, which concerns gifts he allegedly inappropriately received from billionaire benefactors, and in Case 2000, in which he allegedly negotiated to obtain positive media coverage in a newspaper in exchange for curtailing its competitors.
The trial began in May 2020, and is predicted to stretch on for several more years unless a plea bargain can be reached.
Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing in the cases against him and claims that the charges were fabricated in a witch hunt led by the police and state prosecution.
