Apparently, Ehud Olmert's double dealing has finally caught up with him. State Prosecutor Eran Shendar has ordered Israeli Police to launch a criminal investigation against him for financial misconduct in the so-called `Bank Leumi affair' during the sale of the bank's shares in 2005. The allegations claim that Olmert, who was Minister of Finance at the time, apparently broke the law for several of his associates when he used his influence to change the rules of the stock sale to favor the three wealthy supporters, one of whom had contributed to his political campaign. Olmert,in doing this cultivated a relationship which allegedly involved a direct bribe.
Sources involved in the investigation have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to officially open a criminal probe, and Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Moshe Karadi was expected to convene a special meeting Tuesday evening to put together an investigation team.
There's also the matter of Olmert’s purchase of a luxury apartment on Cremieux Street in Jerusalem, for which he apparently received a $320,000 `discount' in exchange for expediting construction permits.
Interestingly enough, the order for the investigation comes from the State Comptroller's office under the leadership of Avia Alulf rather than the Attorney General Mazuz - who recused himself because of his sister's involvement in the selling of the Bank Leumi shares.
If Olmert is removed, the next in line to be PM would be foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who would hardly be an improvement - but I have a feeling the country would proceed to general elections.
As far as I'm concerned, it can't happen fast enough. One wonders what ben-Gurion would think about this particular Prime Minister of Israel...who deserves to be indicted for treason, rather than simple financial malfeasance.
2 comments:
I expect the Prime Minister to pull a "Sharon," a term credit for which I will give to Caroline Glick of the Jerusalem Post, et al. Editor Glick's thesis, to which I subscribe and restate here in my own less articulate way, is that Arik the Devil-incarnate when backed-up to the wall by mounting criminal allegations against him, his sons and friends, embarked upon the Gaza Disengagement because he knew the Israeli (almost totally liberal lefty media) would protect him from investigation and punishment for all past sins, because getting out of Gaza was more important than anything and everything else. And that is exactly what happened.
Arik of southern Lebanon massacre fame became the kindly old grandfather figure of a Prime Minister, the Israeli media's first candidate for Sainthood, notwithstanding his being Jewish. From personal experience and contact with Prime Minister Olmert even though he is a dog owner and dog lover, I do not like him. While I have lots negative adjectives I could use to describe him, Stupid is not one of those adjectives. Expect his "Disengagement Plan for the whole of the West Bank to be re-instituted rather quickly. And if you think the Gaza Bug-Out was a disaster that created a new major middle eastern terrorist central, you ain't seen nothing yet!
-H
Hi,
Ithink Sharon got away with it because (a) some people thought it might work and (b) he had the military/security credentials to back it up.
Neither is true in Olmert's case, and I don't think the Israeli public would stand for any shenanigans in Judea and Samaria...at least I would hope not.
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