Mandelblit to decide on Netanyahu hearing before elections

Netanyahu and Mandelblit Photo: Danny Meron
Netanyahu and Mandelblit Photo: Danny Meron

The Attorney General will reject the request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lawyers to refrain from summoning Netanyahu to a pre-indictment hearing before the Knesset elections, sources inform "Globes."

Attorney General Dr. Avichai Mandelblit will reject the request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lawyers to refrain from summoning Netanyahu to a pre-criminal indictment hearing before the Knesset elections, sources informed about Mandelblit's work on the case told "Globes." Mandelblit is meeting tomorrow with Netanyahu's lawyers to discuss the timing of the hearing about the cases against the prime minister.

It is believed that Mandelbllit will tell the prime minister's lawyers only what he has been saying publicly for months - that he intends to go forward with his handling of the Netanyahu cases as quickly as possible, without sacrificing professionalism and thoroughness, and regardless of what is taking place at the time, including the election campaign.

As for the critics who assert that Mandelblit should have refrained from allowing Netanyahu's lawyers to argue against publishing the decision to summon him to a hearing, the sources told "Globes" that Mandelblit could not have refused to hold the meeting, given the suspect's status and the importance of the matter. They added that Mandelblit granted the request of Adv. Navot Tel-Zur, Netanyahu's lawyer to meet because he had already decided that Netanyahu would be summoned to a pre-indictment hearing in cases 4000 and 1000, and perhaps also case 2000.

The exceptional meeting scheduled for tomorrow will be attended by Tel-Zur, head of Netanyahu's defense team; District Court Judge (ret.) Oded Mudrik; Adv. Amit Hadad; and Adv. Tal Shapira.

Fate of elections on Attorney General's shoulders

According to information obtained by "Globes," the prime minister's lawyers will say to Mandelblit that a decision to summon Netanyahu for a pre-indictment hearing before the elections will cause bias in the electorate, thereby disrupting the Knesset election process. Netanyahu's lawyers will warn Mandelblit that a decision about a hearing will put the fate of the elections in the attorney general's hands.

Netanyahu's lawyers will further argue that there is a risk that a large part of the public does not distinguish between a summons to a hearing, an interim proceeding likely to change, and a final decision about an indictment. The prime minister and his lawyers therefore argue that the attorney general should not publish his decision to held a hearing for Netanyahu before the elections are held.

Netanyahu and his lawyers will continue to argue that that summoning Netanyahu to a hearing at this time will give the public an incomplete picture of the Netanyahu cases, since the Netanyahu's defense has not yet been heard by Mandelblit. Netanyahu's associates compare the summons to a pre-indictment hearing to a court publishing an interim ruling, rather than a judgment.

The main argument for publishing the decision to summon Netanyahu to a hearing is the public's right to know. According to Netanyahu's lawyers, however, a summons to a hearing is like the opening shot in a long proceeding, the end of which does not resemble its beginning. They argue that by issuing a summons to a hearing, the attorney general gives the public an inadequate and deceptive picture.

Netanyahu's lawyers believe that in the hearing meetings before the attorney general, they will succeed in changing the position of the State Attorney and the attorney general. Among other things, they mention that a hearing is a substantive proceeding, not a formal one, and that in many cases in the past, cases were closed as a result of the hearing proceeding.

In all of this discussion, Netanyahu's lawyers are ignoring the fact that the prime minister himself caused the current situation by deliberately deciding to bring the elections forward.

At the same time, his lawyers are correct in saying that the speed of the State Attorney's Office in case 4000 is very rapid in comparison with past white-collar cases.

"Professional proceeding conducted according to the prevailing work methods"

Netanyahu's lawyers contacted Mandelblit last week and asked to meet in order to discuss with him the timing of publication for the decision to summon Netanyahu to a pre-indictment hearing. The appeal was made because Netanyahu and his lawyers realized that Mandelblit believed that there was enough evidence to indict Netanyahu and summon him to a hearing. Mandelblit unexpectedly agreed to the request for this meeting.

Mandelblit's consent to the meeting was criticized. In a letter sent by Dr. Gil Limon, Mandelblit's senior assistant, to Tel-Zur, Limon made it clear, "for the sake of good order," as he put it, that the meeting would deal with the question of the date on which the attorney general's decision on the hearing would be published, and that only. "The attorney general regards it as proper to accept your request for a meeting in order to present more extensively the position of your client on the issue of the date on which the attorney general's decision on the matter will be published. No arguments will be made at the meeting concerning the suspicions, the investigative proceeding, the investigation material, and so forth. Under these circumstances, representatives of the Tel Aviv District State Attorney's Office (taxation, and economics) responsible for examining the investigation material will naturally not participate in the meeting," Limon wrote.

Limon also wrote to the prime minister's lawyer, "The proceeding in examining the evidence in the investigative cases in which the prime minister was investigated as a suspect is a professional proceeding conducted according to the prevailing work methods used in other cases referred to the attorney general for a decision. The work proceeding for the cases took place in an objective and orderly manner, with an effort to complete the work as soon as possible, as planned in advance, before the announcement of early elections."

The attorney general's spokesperson, Adv. Moshe Cohen, said in response, "The attorney general agreed to the meeting and to listen to the lawyers' arguments, and will then write his response."

Netanyahu is a suspect. The legal procedure is still in its initial stage, and he is innocent until proven guilty. He denies the acts attributed to him, and insists that he is innocent.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 20, 2019

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019

Netanyahu and Mandelblit Photo: Danny Meron
Netanyahu and Mandelblit Photo: Danny Meron
Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018