What to know about Netanyahu’s request for a pardon in corruption trial

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a pardon from the president during his trial on corruption charges that has long divided the country. The request was met with indignation Sunday by opposition politicians and government watchdogs, but some Israelis signaled support and indicated it is time to move on.

The president’s office called the request “extraordinary,” with “significant implications.” At stake is the reputation of Israel’s justice system as well as Netanyahu’s hold on power.

Here’s what to know.

The charges

Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israel’s history to stand trial. He is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases accusing him of exchanging favors with wealthy political supporters including a telecom company, a Hollywood producer and a newspaper publisher.

The Justice Ministry announced the indictments in the three cases in 2019, after years of investigations, and the trial began in May 2020.

Netanyahu rejects the allegations and has described the case as a witch hunt orchestrated by the media, police and judiciary.

He has not been convicted of anything. Netanyahu has repeatedly requested postponements of his testimony, citing diplomatic engagements or security issues around Israel’s wars in the past two years with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.

Earlier delays in the trial were caused in part by years of political crisis that gridlocked Israel, with Netanyahu returning to office in late 2022.

The delays have angered many Israelis, including some parents of hostages long held in Gaza who accused Netanyahu of drawing out the war with Hamas as part of efforts to stay in office.

Netanyahu’s argument

The prime minister has portrayed himself in the trial as the victim of a “deep state” conspiracy trying to oust him.

He said his pardon request would help unify Israel at a time of momentous change in the Middle East, and asserted that an “immediate conclusion of the trial would greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs.”

Some government ministers, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, expressed support for his request.

Just weeks ago, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Israel to pardon Netanyahu — something the prime minister mentioned in his statement Sunday. Earlier this month, Trump sent a letter to President Isaac Herzog calling the corruption case “political, unjustified prosecution.”

Herzog is a former political rival of Netanyahu, but the men have a good working relationship. Herzog in the past has said he believes the best way to end this legal chapter would be through a settlement between prosecutors and Netanyahu’s lawyers.

Many Israelis are sensitive to issues involving Netanyahu and the law. Shortly after forming his current government in late 2022, the prime minister launched a plan to overhaul the justice system. That sparked huge anti-government protests as opponents accused him of trying to weaken the system of checks and balances and having a conflict of interest at a time when he was on trial.

The plan was revived earlier this year after being put on hold after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

The criticism

Opponents of the pardon request said it could weaken democratic institutions and send a dangerous message that some people in Israel are above the law.

“He basically says, ‘I’m completely innocent, I’m sure that I can prove this innocence, but not for my own interest, for the country’s interest I’m requesting this pardon,’” said Yohanan Plesner, president of The Israel Democracy Institute. “So there is no assumption of responsibility whatsoever, and this might project a problematic message to all public figures and to what our public norms might look like.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu cannot be granted a pardon “without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse and an immediate retirement from political life.”

Legal experts said the pardon request cannot stop the trial. The only way to stop it is to ask the attorney general to withhold the proceedings, said Emi Palmor, former director general of the Justice Ministry.

What’s next

The pardon request will be sent to the Justice Ministry for opinions and then transferred to the legal adviser in the Office of the President, which will formulate additional opinions.

Experts said the president has broad discretion to grant one, and oversight is limited.

However, “as a rule, the president reviews a pardon request only after all legal proceedings have ended. The possibility of a pre-conviction pardon … is extremely rare,” The Israel Democracy Institute wrote earlier this month. “A pardon before conviction, while legal proceedings are ongoing, threatens the rule of law and seriously undermines the principle of equality before the law.”