Former attorney-general Menahem Mazuz told Channel 10 news on Thursday night
that, were he still in office, he would order an appeal to the Supreme Court on
a July partial acquittal of former prime minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem
District Court.
Most analysts do not expect the state to appeal the
acquittals as they were so nearly across the board and so embarrassing to the
state that it would be highly risky for the prosecution to continue to draw
attention to the case.
At the time of the acquittals, many called for
State Attorney Moshe Lador to resign, with one public figure even metaphorically
calling for the chief prosecutor to commit suicide in reference to the ancient
Japanese custom when one has failed miserably in one’s duty.
Rumors have
surfaced that the state will seek to hit Olmert with a court holding of moral
turpitude that would essentially end his political career, but they are
unconfirmed.
Mazuz was the attorney-general who gave the green light to
the case and still has significant weight in the legal community.
His
comments could be viewed as trying to rally support for the state prosecution
however it decides to act next, though he said he had no special information
about what it would decide.
Mazuz also drew attention to Olmert's
conviction and the picture of Olmert receiving envelopes with cash in situations
where he had a conflict of interest.
He noted that the court did find
Olmert guilty of breach of trust on one count, and that such a finding was very
grave when talking about a cabinet minister, which Olmert was at the time of the
offense.