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Last update - 01:13 09/08/2008
Police question Olmert for 5th time in graft probe
By Tomer Zarchin
Tags: Talansky, Moshe Lador

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was questioned under caution on Friday for the fifth time as part of a criminal investigation linked to financial irregularities. Police investigators arrived at the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem just before 10 A.M. and began the interrogation shortly after.

Olmert has been the subject of an investigation in recent months over allegations of corruption in his former capacities as Jerusalem mayor and trade minister.

The two most prominent investigations involve suspicions that Olmert took bribes from American businessman Morris Talansky, and charges he submitted duplicate claims for travel expenses which he allegedly used to fund family trips abroad.
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In light of the probe, Olmert announced late last month that he has decided not to contend in the Kadima primary election and would resign as soon as the new party leader was chosen.

Meanwhile, State Prosecutor Moshe Lador said this week that it had been his own decision to appear in court in person during Talansky's deposition. He added that he was ready to assume personal responsibility for this decision, according to an e-mail he sent to attorneys in the State Prosecutor's Office and the district offices.

In an unusual move, Lador sent the message Thursday to the attorneys in the state prosecution, addressing various claims made about the role of the prosecution in the Talansky affair.

Talansky, the U.S. based businessman who had been a fund-raiser for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, was central to the police investigation of alleged illegal cash transfers.

During the deposition Talansky gave the Jerusalem District Court last month, the state prosecutor made a personal appearance, and he also appeared before the Supreme Court.

"There are arguments for and against," he wrote, "and anyone can assess the implications and risks inherent in such an appearance. As you know, in the end I decided to make a personal appearance in these proceedings. I did this mostly on ethical grounds, because I thought that in this case, and under these circumstances, it would be appropriate for me to appear in my current function at the court, and I will also bear the personal responsibility for the implications that may stem from this unique act."

In his message Lador rejected the claims that the prosecution's request for an early deposition of Talansky was the first shot in a public trial of Olmert aiming to overthrow him. Lador described these claims as "fundamentally unfounded."

"I believe, that none of you - members of the [prosecution] - need to point out that such considerations do not pass through your heads and they must not pass through the heads of prosecutors and in general the heads of a large group of attorneys, investigators and judges that were all involved in the particular matter in question," Lador wrote.

Lador insisted that Talansky "was and still is a suspect in the case," as his statements to the police, when linked with evidence that was collected during the investigation, associate him with the suspected crimes.

Lador said that part of the prosecution's considerations for seeking an early deposition stemmed from Talansky's statement, in more than one instance, and the concerns he voiced that he might be harmed by unknown persons "who would be sent by Olmert."

Though there was no objective concern, Lador says that "the minute Talansky expressed this thought, it would have been wrong not to mention it, and wrong to ignore its possible influence of these subjective thoughts of the witness on his future willingness to voluntarily cooperate when he was called to offer his testimony in Israel."

Lador said in his message there is flawed reasoning in the arguments of public affairs advisers and other aides of Olmert that Talansky's arrival from the U.S. to give testimony in court (after the preliminary deposition) is proof he was not under any threat.

"It must be remembered, first and foremost," Lador argues "that there is a huge difference between the willingness to appear in court at a future, unknown date, and the willingness to return to participate in a cross-examination which followed a deposition that was already registered by a court of law."

As to how important Talansky's testimony, Lador avoids a judgment, saying its significance will be weighed as part of the entire body of evidence.

Related articles:
  • Olmert questioned by police for fourth time in graft probe
  • Background / Scandals linked to Olmert
  • Police: Olmert quitting because he knows we have him
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      1.   Olmert to be questioned 09:53  |  Ralph 08/08/08
      2.   Olmart more than just bribary Perhaps a spy 11:38  |  Sam 08/08/08
      3.   Police question Olmert for 5th time in graft probe 13:27  |  Gerald Zang 08/08/08
      4.   Olmert is a FAILED Prime Minister and must not continue 16:16  |  Dolly 08/08/08
      5.   If Mazuz Would Indict Already Non Of This Would be An Issue 17:52  |  Shepherd 08/08/08
      6.   Response to # 2 Gerald Zang 17:56  |  Shepherd 08/08/08
      7.   The more time he is free 18:34  |  Arie 08/08/08
      8.   How annoying... nothing substantial was leaked... 19:39  |  Esther 08/08/08
      9.   Why is this man Olmert still there having ` Peace Talks`..... 21:34  |  Dolly 08/08/08
      10.   To Esther # 6 - It seems you have not been 21:53  |  Dagma 08/08/08
      11.   It seems Olmert has missed his Vocation 22:15  |  Jeremy Kohn 08/08/08
      12.   Ah... Dagma, Dagma #10 08:20  |  Esther 09/08/08
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