Mandelblit: Police Held Standing Authority in Netanyahu Probe

Avichai Mandelblit told the Jerusalem District Court on Monday that police investigators retained standing authority to act within the scope of his original approval. He testified that officers did not need to return to him for fresh consent after each investigative move in the probe against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The former attorney general is testifying for the defense. His lawyer, Amit Hadad, pressed him on the specific limits of the permissions Mandelblit granted. Hadad asked which steps required additional sign-off and which fell under existing mandates. This line of questioning focuses on whether investigators exceeded the boundaries set by the state's chief legal officer.

On Monday, the hearing examined the origins of Case 1000. This case involves allegations that Netanyahu received costly gifts from businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer. It also covers actions he allegedly took to benefit Milchan. Hadad questioned whether investigators went beyond approved limits when they spoke with Hadas Klein, Milchan's assistant, and Yonatan Hasson, Packer's driver.

Mandelblit maintained that questioning these individuals fell within his wider permission to examine suspicions of substantial benefits. He stated that this permission remained in force. Consequently, investigators did not have to seek his approval for each individual action taken under that umbrella.

The day before, Mandelblit discussed a separate wiretap on Natan Eshel, a confidant of the prime minister. He said he ordered police to stop the operation once he learned of it. Although investigators had a court warrant, Mandelblit argued that listening in on someone so close to the prime minister's personal and political affairs was sensitive enough to require prior approval from him.

Judge Moshe Bar-Am asked how investigators could distinguish between actions covered by the standing authorization and those requiring further consultation. Mandelblit answered that the subject matter he approved set the boundaries. He noted that only significant developments called for additional discussion with him.

Netanyahu's trial began in May 2020 and spans three cases involving alleged gifts and media dealings. He faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in all three. In Case 4000, he also faces a bribery charge related to alleged regulatory benefits for Bezeq in exchange for changes in Walla news coverage. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing.