US President Trump has claimed that his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, told him that a pardon for Prime Minister Netanyahu is “on its way” after the premier submitted an application for clemency last month.
Netanyahu requested a pardon for the charges of fraud, breach of trust and receiving bribes, which are currently being examined in his long-running trial in Israel.
His application was backed publicly by Trump, who called on Herzog to grant a pardon to the “formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister. [sic]”
He also used a speech in the Knesset to issue the same request, saying “who cares about cigars and champagne?”, in reference to some of the items Netanyahu is alleged to have accepted unlawfully in return for political favours.
Speaking after a meeting with Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, the US leader reiterated: “He’s a wartime prime minister who’s a hero. How do you not give a pardon?
"[I] spoke to the president, and he tells me it’s on its way. You can’t do better than that, right?”
However, Herzog’s office denied that the pair had spoken and emphasised that the application is still under consideration.
"There has not been a conversation between President Herzog and President Trump since the pardon request was submitted,” said a spokesperson just minutes after Trump’s comments.
Instead, they said the president had spoken to “a representative on behalf of President Trump, who enquired about the US president’s letter” and that, during that conversation, “an explanation was provided regarding the stage of the process in which the request currently stands, and that any decision on the matter will be made in accordance with the established procedures”.
Significantly, when lodging his application, Netanyahu declined to admit any guilt – usually a precondition of any pardon being granted.
While the Israel Democracy Institute think tank has noted that “no law requires an admission of guilt as a condition for a pardon”, it did recognise that the issuing of a pardon prior to conviction has previously been allowed “only in rare cases”.
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