After right-wing pundit urged probe of rival channel, Shin Bet denies meeting impacted decision

After an influential right-wing pundit acknowledged that he met with Shin Bet Chief David Zini to push for an investigation of a rival outlet, the intelligence agency is denying that the meeting impacted its decision-making.

Yaakov Bardugo, a commentator on the pro-Benjamin Netanyahu Channel 14 and a close associate of the prime minister, said in a recent radio interview that he met with Zini to push for an investigation of rival Channel 12, over an alleged leak to the outlet regarding the date on which the war with Iran would begin earlier this year.

At first, Zini had reportedly opposed such an investigation, saying that there were no leads and that it wouldn’t receive the necessary approval from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. But he later changed his position following political pressure, and has requested approval of the probe.

In its statement, the Shin Bet acknowledges that the meeting occurred but says it played no role in the decision-making process.

“Without confirming the accuracy of one report or the other, let it be clear that investigations of classified leaks are opened according to the authority and decision of the Shin Bet chief, only after an orderly process involving professionals and the agency’s legal advisers, and out of the Shin Bet’s obligation to the law” prohibiting security-related leaks, the statement says.

“Any attempt to attribute the Shin Bet chief’s professional decisions… to conversations with one source or another is completely baseless,” it adds.

The statement claims that Zini had decided to move forward with the probe before his meeting with Bardugo, but Haaretz reported that that assertion is false, as Bardugo met with Zini several weeks ago, and Zini voiced his opposition to the probe more recently than that.

Opposition MKs decry the meeting and call on Baharav-Miara to investigate it.

Nava Frieberg contributed to this report.