Prosecution will recommend A-G charges Netanyahu with bribery

A Channel 13 report speculated that Mandelblit will attempt to conclude the rounds of consultations and present his verdict by the end of November.

By ALON EINHORN
Avichai Mandelblit (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Avichai Mandelblit
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Following the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal hearings, the Prosecutor’s Office is expected to recommend to Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit to charge Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, according to a Channel 13 report.
Starting Sunday, Mandelblit is expected to hold rounds of consultations with the prosecutor’s office attorneys, where they will recommend charging Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust over Case 4000 (the Bezeq-Walla Affair), and charge him with fraud and breach of trust for both Cases 1000 (the Illegal Gifts Affair) and 2000 (the Yediot Aharonot-Israel Hayom Affair), according to the report.
The report further speculated that Mandelblit will attempt to conclude the rounds of consultations and present his verdict by the end of November.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement responding to the report on Thursday that attacked the prosecution, claiming that “Only in a field trial are the conclusions published before discussing the facts and claims.”
“When exactly did they [the prosecution] manage to read and analyze the 1,000 pages submitted by the prime minister’s attorneys just now?” the statement asked. “There is a reason why the prime minister wanted to hold a public hearing so that all of Israel will realize that these are perforated cases with nothing to them.”
The statement did not attack Mandelblit and concluded that “One can only hope that the Attorney-General will not allow such a distortion of justice and truth in these delusional cases filed against the prime minister.”
Netanyahu’s  two main objectives heading into the pre-indictment hearings were to try to convince Mandelblit to drop Case 2000, and to have the charges in Case 4000 reduced from bribery to breach of public trust.
Late Wednesday evening, Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, left Mandelblit’s office proclaiming, “We are surprising them,” referring to new legal arguments and perspectives on disputed facts that the prosecution did not expect.
Even though the prosecution is expected to recommend to indict Netanyahu, the decision will be made solely by Mandelblit.


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