Israeli prime minister pleads not guilty in corruption trial
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleaded not guilty Monday as his trial on corruption charges resumed in a Jerusalem courtroom just weeks before national elections in which he hopes to extend his 12-year rule.
Netanyahu was indicted last year for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases.
“Everyone knows the cases against me are rigged,” Netanyahu said, adding that the prosecutors hadn’t done a good job. Still, he said holding the evidentiary stage at this time would amount to election “interference.”
Israel’s longest serving leader is the first sitting prime minister to go on trial for corruption.
Israeli law requires Cabinet ministers to resign when charged with criminal offenses, but does not specifically address the case of a prime minister under indictment.
Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and has dismissed the charges against him as a “witch-hunt” orchestrated by biased law enforcement and media. He has refused to step down.
At Monday’s hearing, Netanyahu’s lawyers submitted a written response pleading not guilty. They then argued against the cases on procedural grounds, saying the attorney general had not properly approved the investigations in writing.
After around 20 minutes, Netanyahu left the courtroom without explanation and his motorcade departed. His only remarks to the court were that he had nothing to add to his attorney’s response to the charges.
The hearing continued in his absence, with his lawyers arguing for more than an hour that constitutional procedures had not been followed.
The judges appeared skeptical and repeatedly called on the defense lawyers to wrap it up. The prosecution then rejected those arguments, saying the attorney general had approved the investigations in dozens of meetings.
The prime minister’s attorneys called on the court to postpone evidence hearings for several more months, saying they had inadequate time to prepare. If granted, the hearings would take place after the upcoming elections.
Polls show Netanyahu’s Likud winning the most seats but struggling to form a 61-seat majority coalition in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
ATLANTA — Georgia’s secretary of state’s office on Monday opened an investigation into a phone call between Donald Trump and the state’s top elections official in which the then-president said he wanted to “find” enough votes to overturn his loss in the state, an official said. Walter Jones, a spokesman for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, confirmed the investigation.
“The Secretary of State’s office investigates complaints it receives. The investigations are fact-finding and administrative in nature.
Any further legal efforts will be left to the Attorney General,” Jones wrote.
Investigators will present their findings to the state election board, which will then decide how to proceed.
If the board believes there’s evidence that a crime occurred, it could take action ranging from issuing a letter of reprimand to referring the case to Georgia’s attorney general.