Channel 12 reports that those closest to Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu are pushing back hard against claims that his recent request for a presidential pardon was some sort of tactical first step toward admitting wrongdoing. His associates insist unequivocally: “The prime minister will not admit guilt… The pardon request is not an ‘opening stance.’”
According to the network, the formal request was already drafted last Thursday. Over Shabbos, the Netanyahu family wrestled with the decision, weighing whether submitting it would be the right move in the middle of a heated courtroom fight.
In the end, both trusted advisers and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, encouraged him to move ahead. The report describes their view of the request as “a win-win situation,” no matter how President Isaac Herzog responds.
People involved in the discussions outlined their thinking this way: If Herzog decides to issue a full pardon, the entire indictment collapses and the years-long legal saga is over. If Herzog signals he’d only consider it in exchange for a confession, Netanyahu’s circle can argue that he is being pressured into a false admission outside the boundaries of normal legal process. And if Herzog turns it down entirely, they can claim publicly that the prime minister humbled himself to request clemency, yet the legal system — “mobilizing to convict him at any cost” — refused him even that.
Channel 12 further reports that Netanyahu raised the pardon request during his call this evening with President Donald Trump. The president, who has already conveyed his view that Herzog should clear Netanyahu, expressed his support for the move.
{Matzav.com}
