Netanyahu Formally Requested To Be Pardoned In His Corruption Trial, Claiming It Is For "National Interest"
Netanyahu has faced bribery, fraud, and breach-of-trust charges since 2020, but denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in 2021.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to pardon him in his corruption trial.
Netanyahu has faced charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate but related cases in a trial that began in 2020.
The charges center on claims that Netanyahu granted regulatory favors and diplomatic support to prominent businessmen in exchange for gifts and sympathetic media coverage, according to the New York Times.
However, he has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in February 2021.
The trial was halted several times, initially because of the COVID-19 pandemic and then due to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
In late 2024, Netanyahu finally began testifying as a defendant, in a first for a sitting prime minister.
On Sunday, Nov. 30, Netanyahu’s lawyer submitted a 111-page request to Herzog to pardon Netanyahu without admitting guilt, claiming it is for the “national interest” in order “to push away the threats” facing Israel.
"I am required to testify three times a week... That is an impossible demand that is not made of any other citizen," Netanyahu argued.
Netanyahu’s request came after US president Donald Trump publicly called on Herzog to pardon Netanyahu during a speech to the Knesset on Oct. 13 and then sent a formal letter to Herzog requesting a pardon for Netanyahu on Nov. 12.
Herzog's office said the request was "extraordinary" with "significant implications," adding that the president "will responsibly and sincerely consider the request" after receiving relevant opinions.
Opposition politicians said Netanyahu should not be pardoned without admitting guilt and called on him to resign, Reuters reported.
Presidential pardons in Israel have almost never been granted before conviction, with one exception of a 1986 case involving the Shin Bet security service, according to the Guardian.
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