Ex-court chief Barak expresses support for either plea bargain or pardon for PM after Trump weighs in

Former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak expresses support for either a plea bargain or a pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s call for the premier’s criminal trial to be canceled.

“I’m in favor of an agreement with Netanyahu. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a pardon or a plea bargain. The most important thing is that we come to an agreement. It can bring about calm,” he tells the Mekor Rishon newspaper.

“I don’t know why it doesn’t happen. If it were up to me, I would make an effort to come to an agreement,” he added.

However, Barak was critical of Trump’s intervention, calling it “very troubling.”

Barak has previously supported a plea bargain for Netanyahu and mediated an agreement with then attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit and the prime minister, although Netanyahu ultimately rejected it.

Following Trump’s comments, the head of the Israel Bar Association, Amit Becher, says that if Netanyahu requested the US president’s intervention, it would be a criminal violation.

“If Trump’s tweet in favor of stopping Netanyahu’s trial was coordinated with the prime minister, as the media has reported, then it’s a criminal offense,” Walla reported.

Becher said such actions would constitute prohibited intervention in an ongoing trial, and an attempt to pressure and influence the judges and the State Attorney’s Office.