Overview
- Trump, in an interview published Wednesday after a Tuesday call with Benjamin Netanyahu, urged President Isaac Herzog to issue a pardon and said doing so would make him a “national hero.”
- Trump said Netanyahu’s court dates distract from wartime priorities, dismissed the allegations as “wine and cigars,” and cast the yearslong corruption case as a “witch hunt.”
- Herzog invited Netanyahu’s lawyers, Israel’s attorney general, and the state prosecutor earlier this week to open settlement talks and said he will not weigh clemency until those discussions run their course.
- Israeli practice generally expects an admission of wrongdoing or remorse before a pardon, yet Netanyahu denies the charges and refuses to admit guilt, which limits both a pardon and a plea deal that could restrict his time in office.
- The stakes rise ahead of October elections, with a pardon likely to split Israeli public opinion, and coverage noted Trump’s softer tone toward Herzog compared with earlier sharp attacks.