Ex-AG Mandelblit confirms police held standing authority in Netanyahu trial

Former attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit told the Jerusalem District Court on Monday that police retained standing authority to conduct key investigative steps in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial without seeking fresh approval for each action.

The defense is using Mandelblit’s testimony to challenge the scope of the investigations. Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, pressed Mandelblit on the specific limits of the permissions he granted to investigators. The core question concerns whether police exceeded those boundaries when they questioned witnesses in Case 1000, which involves allegations regarding gifts from businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer.

Mandelblit authorized the original investigations and later approved the indictment. He stated that his permission to examine suspicions of substantial benefits Netanyahu received from businessmen remained in force. He explained that investigators did not have to return to him for consent on every individual move. Instead, the subject matter he approved set the operational boundaries.

Hadad questioned whether the interrogation of Hadas Klein, Milchan’s assistant, and Yonatan Hasson, Packer’s driver, fell outside those approved limits. Mandelblit maintained that these interviews were covered by his broader authorization. He added that only significant developments would have required further consultation with his office.

The hearing on Monday focused on the preliminary examination that developed into Case 1000. This case centers on costly gifts Netanyahu allegedly received and actions he allegedly took to benefit Milchan. Judge Moshe Bar-Am asked how investigators could distinguish between steps covered by the initial authorization and those requiring additional consent. Mandelblit replied that the defined subject matter provided the necessary guideline.

Mandelblit returned to the stand after testifying on Sunday about a separate matter. On that day, he said he ordered police to stop wiretapping Natan Eshel, a confidant of the prime minister, once he learned of the operation. Although investigators had secured a court warrant, Mandelblit argued that the sensitivity of Eshel’s role required prior approval from the attorney-general’s office.

Netanyahu’s trial began in May 2020 and includes three cases involving alleged gifts and dealings with media owners. He faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in all three cases. In Case 4000, he also faces a bribery charge related to alleged regulatory benefits for Bezeq in exchange for intervention in the news coverage of Walla. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing.