The optimism that blows from Netanyahu's defense attorneys and parts of the public, in light of the district judges' call yesterday (Tuesday) that they "expect the investigative authorities to investigate and do whatever it takes to prevent future leaks" - is not justified.
Over the past few years, since Netanyahu's investigations began, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who is authorized to order the investigation of these leaks, has proven that he is the mastermind of the leaks.
In September 2020, for example, a High Court hearing was held in the petition of Shaul Alovich's attorneys, accused in the 4000 case, demanding to investigate media leaks of materials pertaining to the case. Spokesman Avichai Mandelblit's completely ignores the phenomenon of leaks - which are against the law in a case involving public employees: Said President Hayut.
Judge Hayut also commented that this also harms the judicial process that is to be conducted in court: "The violation is a systemic violation. Is not it time to take action?".
Netanyahu's supporters outside the Jerusalem District Court // Photo: Efrat Forsher, Yoni Rickner
Animals did not spare her tribe even from Mandelblit himself.
"There is a difficulty here with the fact that the decision is to do nothing," Hayut slammed the spokesman's representatives at the hearing. This thing. "
We will not hold you in suspense, and we will reveal to you that despite the harsh words Mandelblit was not really moved by the Supreme Court president, and completely avoided investigating the leaks.
This was not the first time that the ombudsman actually used leaks in Netanyahu's cases: as early as October 2017, the then Minister of Internal Security, Gilad Ardan, approached Mandelblit, demanding that leaks from the prime minister's police investigations continue, but the leaks continued to flow uninterrupted.
About two years ago, it was Netanyahu's defense attorneys who approached Mandelblit to perform a polygraph test on prosecutors on suspicion of leaks from the Ministry of Justice - but again, Mandelblit did not show much interest.
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem court, ahead of Nir Hefetz's testimony, Photo: Yoav Dodkevitz
Against the background of all this, the "shock" expressed yesterday by Chief Prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari from the leaks, as well as her proposal to the opposition's defense attorneys to address the matter to the ombudsman, are an insult to the intelligence of judges, defense attorneys and the general public.
Ben-Ari knows that in the case of Hadas Klein's "completion of the investigation", there is almost no chance that the leaker is not from the prosecution - but she is not worried: she also knows Mandelblit's record of not investigating the leaks, and it is clear to her. Trendy and distorted leaks - is the smokescreen that allows Mandelblit to evade public accountability for filing sloppy indictments, full of holes and without good faith.
Winning leaks, even Mandelblit knows, do not replace.