Netanyahu stands trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust

[Right_in_Virginia]

Netanyahu stands trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust
NBC News, May 24, 2020

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared before a Jerusalem court Sunday to hear the criminal charges leveled against him in what was an unprecedented scene in the history of Israel.

Netanyahu, who was indicted on corruption charges in November, is the first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime and to appear as a defendant in court. His predecessor, Ehud Olmert, resigned a decade ago ahead of a corruption indictment that later sent him to prison for 16 months.

Netanyahu, 70, has been charged with one count of bribery and three counts of fraud and breach of trust in three long-running corruption cases. He denies any wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a politically orchestrated "witch hunt."

If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison for bribery and a maximum 3-year-term for each count of fraud and breach of trust, according to legal experts, who caution that it is unlikely he would be handed maximum sentences even if found guilty.


More:  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/netanyahu-stands-trial-charges-bribery-fraud-breach-trust-n1212806

[catfish1957]

Always have been a fan of Bibi's work over there, and am shocked not only that there were charges, but Israeli law allows public trial of a sitting head of state. 

Anyone have any insight of the validity of these charges?  Seems that if they were truly a "publicly orchestrated witch hunt", a trial of this nature would have massive blow back against his opposition.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Always have been a fan of Bibi's work over there, and am shocked not only that there were charges, but Israeli law allows public trial of a sitting head of state. 

The last PM to be investigated for corruption, Ehud Olmert, resigned the premiership before being indicted. (Ironic:  Netanyahu was the lead voice calling for his resignation and assumed his first premiership after Olmert's departure).    Olmert went on to be found guilty of fraud and bribery and served 16 months of a 27-month prison sentence.

Netanyahu’s refusal to step down is a first and puts Israel in uncharted territory. There is nothing in law that requires a PM to resign (there is for an MK).   Netanyahu had sought immunity through the Knesset, but withdrew it when it became clear the Knesset was not going to grant it.

Anyone have any insight of the validity of these charges?  Seems that if they were truly a "publicly orchestrated witch hunt", a trial of this nature would have massive blow back against his opposition.

There's a boatload of pretty good analysis on this ... Google "Netanyahu indictments". 

[Fishrrman]

catfish wrote:
"Seems that if they were truly a "publicly orchestrated witch hunt", a trial of this nature would have massive blow back against his opposition."

Hahaha.
How well did that work out right here, earlier this year...?

[libertybele]

Bookmark

[Absalom]

Netanyahu, a fraud and hustler, earned a rich living as a politician; mule headed, self-righteous,
unloved and not even liked; yet he refuses to go away, just like the rest of the political class!!!
And then bewildered voters ask plaintively 'why nothing changes'?????

[Cyber Liberty]

If I interpret the "BRieferSpeak" correctly, since Netanyahu has been charged, he is therefore guilty unless he proves himself innocent.  Do I have that correct, @Applewood?

@Absalom Did I get that right?

[Applewood]

If I interpret the "BRieferSpeak" correctly, since Netanyahu has been charged, he is therefore guilty unless he proves himself innocent.  Do I have that correct, @Applewood?

@Absalom Did I get that right?

 

As an aside -- I don't know what the law is in Israel.  For all I know, the PM might be presumed guilty and have to prove his innocence.  It is that way in some countries. 

[Cyber Liberty]

As an aside -- I don't know what the law is in Israel.  For all I know, the PM might be presumed guilty and have to prove his innocence.  It is that way in some countries.

That is correct.  For this one, the USA, it's not that way.  For most people.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Victim of a left-wing coup? Why Netanyahu’s conspiracy theory is foul and absurd
No, it's not the right that's on trial. Just Netanyahu
Times of Israel, May 25, 2020


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and former Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, left,
attend the funeral of Likud MK Zeev Boim, in Binyamina, Israel, Monday, March 21, 2011.

<snip>

Olmert was indicted that August, and went to jail almost nine years later, at the end of a protracted legal struggle that saw him initially exonerated of some of the charges against him, but later convicted on appeal. All four of the key establishments Netanyahu cites as using foul means to oust him for ideological reasons played a role in Olmert’s downfall: Some of Olmert’s own dovish allies had exerted pressure for him to resign, he had suffered plenty of hostile media coverage, the police were self-evidently determined to get their man, and the state prosecutors pursued him doggedly despite some initial rulings against them. Then Israel’s judges, in whose impartiality Netanyahu conspicuously omitted to express his faith on Sunday, ultimately sent Olmert to jail.

The very sequence of events that helped bring Netanyahu to power in 2009, in other words, demonstrates the inanity of the prime minister’s insistence that he and the entire Israeli right is on trial in his case, victims of a thoroughly politicized process.

“Citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu declared outside the courtroom in the first section of Sunday’s speech, which is worth quoting in full, “what is on trial today is an effort to frustrate the will of the people — the attempt to bring down me and the right-wing camp. [...]  “The goal is to bring down a strong prime minister from the right wing and thus keep the right-wing camp away from running the state for many years,” he continued. [...]

No. This is manifestly false.

In fact, it was the police and the prosecution that tenaciously brought down his leftist predecessor, a prime minister who had played a central role in uprooting Gaza’s settlements, and who, far more dramatically, was ready to uproot most of those in the West Bank as well.

[...]

Netanyahu was required to present himself in Courtroom 317 of the Jerusalem District Court on Sunday not because a cabal of leftist politicians, journalists, cops and state prosecutors are determined to oust a strong right-wing prime minister, and keep him and his ideological allies from power for years. This is not The State of Israel versus the Israeli right-wing camp. Just ask Ehud Olmert.


Read more:  https://www.timesofisrael.com/victim-of-a-left-wing-coup-why-netanyahus-conspiracy-theory-is-foul-and-absurd/

[Quasar44]

Always have been a fan of Bibi's work over there, and am shocked not only that there were charges, but Israeli law allows public trial of a sitting head of state. 

Anyone have any insight of the validity of these charges?  Seems that if they were truly a "publicly orchestrated witch hunt", a trial of this nature would have massive blow back against his opposition.

It’s an outrage and he will win but their SC is more left
He has done nothing but be there greatest leader

[Gefn]

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[Right_in_Virginia]

It’s an outrage and he will win but their SC is more left He has done nothing but be there greatest leader

@Quasar44  I posted a very detailed and cogent article (above) presenting why this trial is not about left or right.  The last PM, a fairly good one, to face criminal charges was a leftist. And the courts sent this leftist to jail.

Pray for Israel.  I fear the wrath Netanyahu will unleash to save himself.