Mandelblit: Police Kept Broad Authority

Former attorney general Avichai Mandelblit testified at the Jerusalem District Court on Monday that police investigators retained broad discretion during the probe of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He stated that his original authorization covered the subject matter of the investigation, meaning detectives did not have to seek his consent for each individual action.

The defense is using Mandelblit's testimony to examine whether investigators stayed within the limits of his approval. Netanyahu's lawyer, Amit Hadad, asked specifically what police were permitted to examine and which steps required further sign-off from Mandelblit. The former attorney general signed off on the indictment and authorized the initial investigations.

On Sunday, Mandelblit said he ordered police to stop wiretapping Natan Eshel, a confidant of Netanyahu, after learning of the operation. Although investigators had a court warrant, Mandelblit argued that listening in on someone so close to the prime minister was sensitive enough to require prior approval.

The hearing on Monday focused on Case 1000, which alleges that Netanyahu received costly gifts from businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer. It also covers alleged actions Netanyahu took to benefit Milchan. Hadad questioned whether investigators exceeded their authority when they interviewed Hadas Klein, Milchan's assistant, and Yonatan Hasson, Packer's driver, about those gifts.

Mandelblit maintained that questioning those individuals fell within his wider permission to examine suspicions that Netanyahu received substantial benefits from businessmen. He explained that the subject matter he approved set the boundaries for the investigation. Significant developments, however, called for further consultation with him.

Judge Moshe Bar-Am asked how investigators were supposed to distinguish between steps covered by that authorization and those needing additional consent. Mandelblit answered that the scope of the approved subject matter defined the limits.

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