AG declines to speak directly with judges in Netanyahu trial, says open to ‘dialogue for an arrangement’ over the case

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara rejects a proposal by the judges presiding over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial for her to speak with them behind closed doors, saying that the prosecutors trying the case are able to deliver any message the judges may have for her if necessary.

The request comes against the background of testimony by former attorney general Avichai Mandelblit, which has raised questions over the investigative and indictment process against the prime minister, who was charged at the beginning of 2020 in three separate corruption cases.

In a statement issued by Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman, they say that they are “open to a direct dialogue for an arrangement,” in reference to the possibility of a plea bargain. They said they had previously agreed to a dialogue when President Isaac Herzog offered to mediate such an agreement earlier this year.

“We answered in the affirmative to the president’s request and the prime minister chose not to respond,” Baharav-Miara and Aisman write, adding “the prosecutors dealing with the case are senior and experienced and can deliver any message.”

The three judges presiding over the case have twice recommended that the prosecution drop the bribery charge in Case 4000, the most serious charge Netanyahu faces in the trial, most recently in June this year. Baharav-Miara did not issue a formal response to the court’s suggestion.