Judges were forced on Monday to temporarily adjourn the first hearing of Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial since he returned to the premiership, after the defense attorneys shouted at them.
The clash began during the cross-examination of one of the investigators, Polina Govzman Kariv, by Netanyahu’s attorney Boaz Ben Zur. The latter found one of the witness’s answers regarding her handling of the interrogation of former Communication Ministry director Shlomo Filber, who turned state witness, to be insufficient.
Prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh then defended the handling of the investigation, leading to snickers from the defense.
“I have been a lawyer for 25 years and I have never encountered such ugly behavior,” Tirosh said.
“And I’ve never come across an indictment like this,” Ben Zur said, referring to the charge sheet against his client in so-called Case 4000, in which Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
Prosecutors in the case allege that Netanyahu, who was prime minister at the time, approved regulatory decisions benefiting controlling Bezeq shareholder Shaul Elovitch to the tune of hundreds of millions of shekels. In exchange, he is accused of soliciting positive media coverage from the Bezeq-owned Walla news site.
Attorneys Jack Chen (L) and Boaz Ben Zur at a hearing in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial at the Jerusalem District Court on December 27, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Elovich’s attorney Jack Chen demanded he also get an opportunity to respond to Tirosh’s comments, but Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman refused, saying that the cross-examination was moving forward.
Chen did not like the answer and began shouting at the three-judge panel, insisting that he be allowed to respond.
“Don’t shout at us. Lower your tone. The prosecutor was offended [by your remarks] and said what she said,” Friedman-Feldman responded.
“She has only been a lawyer for 25 years and I have only been a lawyer for 30 years. I have never seen a case with so many contradictions,” Chen retorted, before again shouting that the prosecution’s conduct was scandalous.
“Both sides have made unnecessary comments here,” Friedman-Feldman said.
Investigator Polina Govzman Kariv arrives at a hearing in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial at the Jerusalem District Court on December 27, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
“No, only one side has!” Chen shot back.
At that point Friedman-Feldman ordered a brief recess in an effort to lower tensions.
The cross-examinations in Case 4000 have been heated for weeks, with the prosecution attempting to declare several witnesses hostile while witnesses have been accusing the prosecution of intimidating and strong-arming them.
Netanyahu is also on trial in two other cases known as Case 1000 and Case 2000. He denies any wrongdoing and claims he was framed by a biased state prosecution and police, in league with left-wing media and his political opponents.
On Sunday, Channel 13 reported that three veteran drivers in the prime minister’s motorcade who were recently fired for having also ferried former premiers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid are set to serve as prosecution witnesses in Netanyahu’s trial.
The drivers, who had been employed by the Prime Minister’s Office for roughly 30 years and were let go by Netanyahu in order to ensure the loyalty of those working for him, are all slated to soon give testimony before the Jerusalem District Court, the network said.
Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a court hearing in his trial at the Jerusalem District Court on May 31, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The so-called Case 1000 revolves around accusations that Netanyahu received expensive gifts from businessmen in exchange for benefits he provided to them.
According to Channel 13, the three drivers who were fired had contradicted Netanyahu’s testimony to police about the origin of certain cigars.
Responding to the report, Netanyahu’s office denied that firing the drivers had anything to do with the prime minister’s trial.
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Attorneys lose cool at first Netanyahu trial hearing since his return as PM - The Times of Israel
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