Late Netanyahu lawyer said to have scripted plan for PM to quit amid graft probe

Several days before his death, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s longtime lawyer, Yaakov Weinroth, said he believed Netanyahu should quit over the series of corruption investigations into his affairs, the Haaretz daily reported Thursday.

Weinroth told confidants on his deathbed he believed the prime minister should step down, and seek a plea bargain, to save him the uncertainty of his going on trial, the report said.

In an apparent effort to mitigate the public backlash from admitting to some of the charges, Weinroth told friends he’d even scripted a phased plan for Netanyahu’s potential departure.

According to his plan, Netanyahu would win the next elections in a sweeping victory. Then, he would announce a “historic” political achievement — Weinroth suggested signing a peace agreement with an Arab country — before quietly retiring and securing a relatively lenient arrangement with law enforcement.

Weinroth was one of Israel’s most prominent lawyers in recent decades. He died Monday at the age of 71 after a battle with cancer.

During his career Weinroth represented Netanyahu and his family as well as ministers, presidents, judges, and celebrities.

He represented Netanyahu during his first term as prime minister in the 1990s, successfully defending him from corruption allegations.

More recently, Weinroth and his firm signed on to defend Netanyahu in two cases  in which the prime minister is suspected of receiving illicit gifts and engaging in illegal quid pro quos.

Police have already recommended that Netanyahu be indicted for bribery in these cases, called 1000 and 2000, but Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is reportedly waiting for police to finish a third corruption investigation, case 4000, before deciding whether to indict the prime minister.

Case 4000 involves suspicions that Netanyahu traded favors for favorable media coverage.

Weinroth was also one of the lawyers defending the prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, who is on trial for the alleged misuse of state funds.

In early October, Weinroth quit her defense team over disagreements over whether to pursue a plea deal with prosecutors. According to reports in Hebrew-language media, Weinroth walked out after Sara Netanyahu refused to heed his recommendation that she take a deal, insisting the case go to trial.

At Weinroth’s funeral on Tuesday, Netanyahu eulogized his family’s longtime lawyer as a “great man” who would be remembered for his pursuit of truth and love for his country.

“The public feels that a great man and a unique personality has gone,” he said. “It’s doubtful there is another like him in our country. Yaakov is no longer with us but he spread a great light that will continue to illuminate our way. A light of love for Israel, of striving for truth.”