Who will blink over anti-Netanyahu leaks to media - Mandelblit or Hayut?
On September 14, High Court President Esther Hayut created the equivalent of a legal earthquake pressing hard for Mandelblit to probe the leaks.
By YONAH JEREMY BOB(L-R) Avichai Mandelblit and Esther Hayut(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
There are continuous ripples from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public corruption case, the latest being an escalating showdown between Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit and the High Court of Justice over leaks of unflattering evidence against the prime minister to the media. On September 14, High Court President Esther Hayut created the equivalent of a legal earthquake pressing hard for Mandelblit to probe the leaks.Although the court may not issue a ruling for weeks, or months, it appeared clear that Hayut and her fellow justices were prepared to endorse a petition by Case 4000 defendants Shaul and Iris Elovitch to compel Mandelblit to order an investigation.“If this is a recurring phenomenon, hasn’t the moment arrived to take action and review it?” Hayut demanded at the September 14 hearing.According to the defendants in the cases of alleged corruption against Netanyahu, there have been well over 100 illegal leaks of information to the media that were designed to harm Netanyahu and Elovitch prior to their upcoming trial in January.Both before and after Hayut’s rebuke, Mandelblit has condemned the leaks, but said a probe would make matters worse.Responding to Hayut this past weekend, he argued it would harm the freedom of the press, would discourage whistleblowers and might not end the leaks, some of which have come from competing defendants’ lawyers.He said more than 150 people could be the source of some of the alleged leaks, arguing that such a probe could also be a lost cause.The question will now be whether Hayut will double down or fold – given that Mandelblit has doubled-down.Hayut’s rebuke of the attorney-general – a rare admonition from the judiciary on issues related to the prime minister’s case – may open a new Pandora’s box for law enforcement and the media.
