Israeli president responds to Trump’s letter asking him to pardon Netanyahu in corruption cases
Jerusalem — Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he received a letter from President Trump on Wednesday asking him to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial in three separate trials. corruption cases.
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the ongoing trials, with no rulings yet made, and his supporters have dismissed the trials as politically motivated.
In a speech to the Israeli parliament in October, Mr. Trump urged Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, telling the assembled lawmakers: “By the way, that wasn’t in the speech, as you probably know!” But I happen to like this gentleman right here. [Netanyahu]and it seems so logical.”
“This morning, President Isaac Herzog received the attached letter from U.S. President Donald Trump, calling on him to consider granting a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” Herzog’s office said in a statement, adding that the president could not initiate a pardon based solely on the U.S. leader’s request.
In his letter, Mr. Trump said he was writing to Herzog at a “historic moment, as together we have just secured the peace that has been sought for at least 3,000 years.”
“I hereby ask you to fully forgive Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive wartime prime minister,” the statement added. “While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli judicial system…I believe this ‘case’ against Bibi…is a political and unjustified prosecution.”
Netanyahu has long been known by the nickname Bibi.
Mr. Trump also framed his request for a pardon from Netanyahu as something his Israeli counterpart deserved for working with the White House to achieve the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, saying: “Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by forgiving it and ending this legal war once and for all.” »
He and his wife Sara are accused in one case of accepting luxury goods worth more than $260,000, including cigars, jewelry and champagne, from billionaires. in exchange for political favors. He is also accused of trying to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets in two other cases.
Evan Vucci/AP
The statement from Herzog’s office said the Israeli president holds Mr. Trump “in the highest regard and continues to express his deep gratitude for President Trump’s unwavering support for Israel.”
“At the same time and despite this… anyone seeking a presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with established procedures,” the text adds.
During his current term, which began in late 2022, Netanyahu has proposed wide-ranging judicial reforms that critics say were aimed at weakening the courts. These sparked massive protests that were only stopped after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Mr. Trump has long accused his political opponents of using the Justice Department to target him during his time out of office, and since returning to the White House, the department, now led by his appointees, has lobbied for Biden-era justice officials. to be pursued about an FBI investigation into the fallout from the 2020 election.
In September, he pushed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff. Comey and James have since been criminally charged.
