NETANYAHU DIDN'T ASK ABOUT LEGALITY OF GIFTS IN FRAUD CASE, OFFICIAL COUNSEL SAYS

Netanyahu Didn't Ask About Legality of Gifts in Fraud Case, Official Counsel Says

The judges chose not to intervene as Netanyahu's defense attorney called his legal adviser 'biased', after she testified that the prime minister never approached her on the issue of 'gifts from friends' until 2018

May 08th, 23PM May 08th, 23PM

Shlomit Barnea Farago, the Prime Minister's Office legal adviser, told the Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had never sought legal advice from her about getting gifts from the billionaires Arnon Milchan and James Packer.

The two men are at the center of Case 1000, in which Netanyahu has been indicted for fraud and breach in connection with gifts valued in the hundreds of thousands of shekels he received from them. Wednesday's testimony focused on the question of whether Barnea Farago had given the prime minister a legal opinion allowing for him to accept the gifts.

"The prime minister never once approached me on the issue of gifts from any friend until 2018," Barnea Farago told prosecutor Tafat Moyal Rothschild.

Barnea Fargo said she only learned about the relationship between Netanyahu, Milchan and Packer from the media. She testified that she was unaware of the fact that Netanyahu had sought advice from private lawyers regarding the gifts, nor was she aware of Netanyahu's attempts to act in Milchan's interests.

In his cross examination, the prime minister's defense attorney, Amit Hadad, pointed to an affidavit by Natan Eshel, the former PMO chief of staff, saying that he had consulted with Barnea Fargo on the matter. Hadad quoted Eshel as saying Barnea Fargo had told the prime minister that "as long as the matter concerned a person who was a friend of the prime minister before he took office as prime minister, there is no prohibition or restrictions."

Barnea Fargo said in response that she did not recall ever discussing the matter of gifts in relation to the prime minister with Eshel.

Hadad then asked the witness in connection with the Gift Law whether she was familiar with "the rule that the distinction between a prohibited gift and a non-prohibited gift is the fact that the employee is a public servant?"

Barnea Fargo answered that the distinction Hadad was making was not entirely correct. "That is not the only factor to take into consideration, but also if [the giver of the gifts] has interests that the recipient would have influence over."

Hadad then asserted that that was incorrect, prompting Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman to ask, "Are you holding a symposium on the Gift Law here?"

The defense attorney argued that there was a difference between a gift by virtue to a public servant due to his position and one from his wife or a close personal friend.

In such a case, Barnea Fargo, answered, "If the gift was given regardless of [the recipient's] position as a public servant and is acceptable under the circumstances of the matter, I would have to ensure there was no conflict of interest," explained the witness.

In response, Hadad asked Barnea-Fargo if she had ever told Netanyahu that if he wanted to accept gifts from friends, she would have to conduct that inquiry. She answered that she only addressed concrete, not theoretical, questions.

Hadad said angrily, "You didn't listen to my question because you're biased." Barnea Fargo replied, "I ask that you stop acting that way and remember your manners." Hadad shot back, "Unfortunately, this is the truth." The judges chose not to intervene.

2024-05-08T20:32:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd