Five years after his trial began, and several months into cross-examination, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should receive a pardon from President Isaac Herzog, US President Donald Trump wrote in a letter to the president on Wednesday.
“It is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all,” wrote Trump.
This is the first official request by Trump to Herzog on the matter, though he has echoed the sentiment in several social media posts. Additionally, last month, over a dozen Likud MKs and ministers signed an identical letter to Herzog, making similar claims and arguments.
A presidential pardon is not possible at this point in the trial, as it can only be issued either before proceedings begin or after a verdict is handed down, neither of which is the present stage of the trial.
Additionally – and as the Office of the President clarified on Wednesday – a pardon must be requested in order for a pardon procedure to be triggered, not handed down from the Israeli president. This is usually done by the defendant or someone close to them.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries and long odds, and his attention cannot be unnecessarily diverted,” Trump wrote. “While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System, and its requirements, I believe that this ‘case’ against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran, is a political, unjustified persecution.”
Netanyahu was indicted in 2020, and the trial began. He was charged with bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust in three cases, 1000, 2000 and 4000, and pleaded not guilty in all three. The trial is currently in its cross-examination stage.
Mediation attempts have been made over the years, with the involvement of former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak. They failed to advance over the issue of moral turpitude, which Netanyahu would have had to admit to under any plea bargain – and which, from his perspective, is a nonstarter, as it would effectively end his political career.
In July, Trump’s envoy to Israel, Ambassador Mike Huckabee, visited a hearing as it took place in the Tel Aviv District Court. He told reporters at the time, “The judges are not the ones who brought this indictment. The judges are great. Me being here has nothing to do with the judges, but with the fact that this whole trial is wrong.”
Trump made the same request when he spoke at the Knesset just a few weeks ago. In the letter signed by Israeli ministers, they also referenced Israel’s great feats in the war, led by Netanyahu, and argued that the societal split over the corruption trial could only be mended by it being put to bed via a pardon from Herzog so that unity could be restored.
Trump echoed these sentiments in his Wednesday letter: “As the Great State of Israel and the amazing Jewish People move past the terribly difficult times of the last three years, I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable decisive War Time Prime Minister, and is now leading Israel into a time of peace, which includes my continued work with key Middle East leaders to add many additional countries to the world-changing Abraham Accords,” he said.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries and long odds, and his attention cannot be unnecessarily diverted,” the US president said.
Referring to his Israeli counterpart by his first name, he said, “Isaac, we have established a great relationship, one that I am very thankful and honored by, and we agreed as soon as I was inaugurated in January that the focus has to be centered on finally bringing the hostages home and getting the peace agreement done. Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all.”
Herzog thanked Trump for his support of Israel
Commentators on both the Left and the Right argue that the trial has ballooned past the legal realm, and hangs over every political and legal procedure and decision that affects the broader public – including the four rounds of election cycles Israel experienced since 2019.
Many have argued that even someone as skilled as Netanyahu cannot responsibly lead a country while under criminal charges and that it places the country in physical and legislative danger, and have called for him to step down so that the trial could proceed to completion. On the other side is the claim that the case against the prime minister is fabricated and, in any case, not strong enough for a sentence.
The content of the letter was publicized while Netanyahu testified on the witness stand in Tel Aviv.
The NGO Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG) called the letter “an inappropriate interference in the internal legal proceedings of a sovereign and independent state… The criminal proceedings against the prime minister must continue without any political interference, whether it comes from within or from without… Any attempt to exert pressure on the judicial system or to suggest non-legal solutions seriously harms the fundamental principles of the State of Israel.”
The letter generated responses from politicians in Israel's coalition and opposition.
Opposition politicians firmly rejected any attempts to provide Netanyahu with a pardon and slammed the letter.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) said, “A country that has national dignity does not behave this way,” during remarks at the Knesset's plenum.
Earlier, Lapid noted that "Israeli law stipulates that the first condition for receiving a pardon is an admission of guilt and an expression of remorse for the actions."
Head of the Democrats Party, Yair Golan, criticized Netanyahu for saying "nothing happened" while "begging Trump to help him obtain a pardon."
“If he [Netanyahu] finds it difficult to run the state and a trial at the same time, he should resign,” Golan said.
“The law is clear, and everyone is equal before it,” he concluded.
Former IDF chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot (Yashar!) criticized attempts for a pardon, stating that “anyone confident in the cleanliness of their hands and their innocence does not seek favors from an external party.”
Meanwhile, right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) called a pardon for Netanyahu “the right thing to do.”
He said that the indictments against Netanyahu were “fabricated and despicable.”