Former prime minister Ehud Olmert is poised to beat the odds again at a
sentencing hearing set for Monday in the Jerusalem District
Court.
Although the hearing is dramatic in that it involves a former
prime minister, the outcome is all but decided based on the recommendation of
the state to the court to sentence Olmert to a mere six months of community
service.
The sentencing hearing is for the one minor crime Olmert was
convicted of in his Jerusalem District Court corruption trial – breach of public
trust in the Investment Center Affair.
Olmert was acquitted in July of
all serious crimes involving significant prison time in a host of
affairs.
The next significant turn of events was only a few weeks ago
when the State Attorney’s Office shocked the country in sidestepping the issue
of moral turpitude and suggesting to the court that the issue could be left on
the back burner until and if Olmert ever decides to make a political
comeback.
A finding of moral turpitude would have essentially ended
Olmert’s political career since it prohibits participation in politics for seven
years and Olmert will turn 67 on September 30.
Nevertheless, in a case
with many surprises, it is still possible that the court could reject the
state’s recommendation and sentence Olmert to a short amount of prison time or
to find that his acts constituted moral turpitude.
Such decisions,
however, are unlikely in light of the fact that the court took pains when
announcing its verdict to admonish Olmert without severely condemning any of his
actions.
If the court were dead-set on prison time or moral turpitude, it
would likely have criticized him far more strongly and emotionally in the
verdict.