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Livni urges Olmert to take leave as threat of indictment looms
By Tomer Zarchin, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: rishon tours, ehud olmert 

Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni on Thursday called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to suspend himself immediately in light of the indictment facing him over the Rishon Tours scandal.

Livni, who also serves as foreign minister, summoned an emergency meeting of Kadima on Thursday to discuss the repercussions of a potential indictment against Olmert.

"The prime minister must take leave. There is no other option," Livni said.
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"This is a dramatic day," Livni said. "The Kadima Party cannot afford to follow these norms. There has been a change in Israel. This isn't Olmert's personal matter but a public matter."

The Kadima head added that this was a difficult day for the state following the attorney general's announcement Wednesday night that an indictment against Olmert is imminent.

"Despite the discomfort and despite the fact that none of us is eager to do so, Kadima was established in order to impart worthy norms of behavior," Livni said, calling on faction members identified with Olmert to put aside their allegiance. "We have no other choice," Livni said. "We are here together and we have to work as a faction."

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz told Olmert on Wednesday that he is considering filing an indictment against him for allegedly using state funds from multiple state bodies to finance private trips abroad.

Mazuz told Olmert's former bureau chief, Shula Zaken, he is considering indicting her, as well.

The attorney general made his decision a few weeks ago but prefered to wait until Olmert returned from his just-completed Washington D.C trip. He will issue a final decision on the matter pending the outcome of a hearing he will hold for Olmert.

The Rishon Tours affair involves suspicion that during Olmert's stint as minister of industry, trade and labor (2003-2006), and as mayor of Jerusalem (1993-2003), he financed his own and his family's private flights through money obtained fraudulently from public bodies. He may face charges of fraud, breach of faith and falsifying corporate documents, and income tax evasion.

Olmert's attorneys, Eli Zohar, Navot Telzur and Roy Blecher said in response to Mazuz's announcement: "The prime minister utterly rejects the suspicions against him in the matter of Rishon Tours. The decision to summon the prime minister to a hearing on this matter, when other affairs are still under investigation and/or no decision has been made, is a surprising and even unreasonable one."

Mazuz ordered a criminal file opened against Olmert in June in the Rishon Tours affair, with suspicions emerging that he had allegedly defrauded several organizations, among them the AKIM organization for developmentally delayed children, Israel Bonds, Yad Vashem, the Simon Weisenthal Center, the March of the Living, Keren Hayesod, the World Jewish Congress and ORT. Olmert is suspected of demanding, through Zaken and another staff member, Rachel Raz-Risbi, reimbursment from two or more groups for his flights as well as from the state.

It is believed that some $85,000 accumulated in an account at Rishon Tours, which was used for Olmert family trips abroad and for upgrades.

Olmert's attorneys were informed Wednesday by letter of suspicions that with Olmert's knowledge and on his instruction the bodies funding his trips were systematically presented with false documents stating that they were paying for his flight and occasionally for those accompanying him, and that it was concealed from these bodies that other groups were also being asked to pay for the trips.

In their statement Wednesday, the prime minister's lawyers also said Olmert was "shocked to read in Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's letter details and claims about which he had not been questioned...in complete opposition to the statement by the attorney general, the prime minister was presented with no evidence on which to base the idea that he was aware of the alleged acts."

According to the State Prosecutor's Office, these alleged acts of fraud were also commited against the state, since some of his trips were made as part of his ministerial post and were funded by the state. Olmert is suspected of presenting false documents to officials in the Industry, Trade and Employment Ministry.

The State Prosecutor's Office claims that by these alleged acts, Olmert also unlawfully received payment or benefit deriving from his post.

Olmert is also suspected of fraudulently concealing this income from the State Comptroller. The State Prosecutor further suspects that Olmert concealed the income from the tax authorities in his annual tax returns.

The State Prosecutor notes that Olmert's conduct in general constitutes taking advantage of his position over the years for monetary benefit with trips paid for by public organizations and by the state in a manner opposed to norms and rules obligating a minister and a public servant, and that such acts constitute fraud and breach of faith.

The State Prosecutor's Office has also not yet decided whether to indict Olmert on allegations that he accepted illicit funds over many years from a Long Island businessman, Morris Talansky. In his preliminary deposition in Jerusalem on May 27, Talansky testified that he gave Olmert $150,000, mostly in cash, for political campaigns and travel expenses.

Contacts with American authorities to allow Talansky to complete his preliminary testimony have not yet been concluded. Talansky has said that because of the investigation against him in the United States, he does not intend to come to Israel to complete his testimony unless he is given a kind of immunity, because of concerns his testimony here may implicate him in the U.S.

Justice officials said Wednesday that the claim that Mazuz is delaying his decision regarding Olmert until after the elections is unfounded. The officials also said that even if Olmert is charged on other counts, it has been decided not to wait with an indictment until the conclusion of the investigations by the state prosecutor on these matters.

Sources said Wednesday that the investigation by State Prosecutor Moshe Lador of suspicions that Olmert interfered in the privatization of Bank Leumi to benefit a friend is at a very advanced stage and a decision is expected soon.

The police are still investigating allegations that Olmert, while serving as the industry, trade and labor minister, allegedly granted large state investment funds to a company which his close associate and former law partner, Uri Messer, had been hired to represent.

Olmert's media adviser, Amir Dan, said "After the State Prosecutor's Office took a hard blow in the Talansky affair and after they brought down a sitting prime minister, it is clear that the Justice Ministry cannot make do with anything else, and there were no other expectations in this matter. As with Talansky's deposition, now too the State Prosecutor's Office is presenting a mistaken, one-sided picture, which will crack and collapse."

Mazuz may be asked soon for an opinion regarding Olmert's possible incapacitation. A senior judicial official said Wednesday that "the matter depends mainly on Olmert," and that Mazuz has said that incapacitation is a matter for public and political discourse, and not a legal issue.

Related articles:
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  • Police: Olmert travel expenses probe likely to yield indictment
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      1.   Which century? 19:12  |  Mark Lincoln 26/11/08
      2.   Watch Mazuz & Olmert cut a deal 19:36  |  zionist forever 26/11/08
      3.   It`s tough to give away the Golan and Yesha from Jail! 20:06  |  Kenny 26/11/08
      4.   Several Questions? 20:35  |  Jack 26/11/08
      5.   Add Another 2 Seats to Likud At Least 21:12  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 26/11/08
      6.   20.000 EURO SURPLUS OVER YEARS 21:16  |  Rafiq 26/11/08
      7.   "Much less a prime minister" 21:17  |  Ilan 26/11/08
      8.   Wishing you Good luck in this to clarify this issue, I will from 21:25  |  Simon Mohammed 26/11/08
      9.   Pines-Paz is wrong Indicting Olmert is a wonderful day in Israel 21:29  |  Livin In Rishon 26/11/08
      10.   It is sad to see a man of peace fall like this.Chances are that 21:56  |  The Bedouin 26/11/08
      11.   A Cause for Celebration ! 21:59  |  Tod Zuckerman 26/11/08
      12.   Olmert using Sharon`s gimmick: Give away Israel 22:10  |  Bennie 26/11/08
      13.   Olmert has been a total catastrophe for Israel 22:12  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 26/11/08
      14.   #1, Mark Lincoln 22:17  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 26/11/08
      15.   The Bedouin? akhi we certainly never thought so before but now we 22:27  |  do...to bad 26/11/08
      16.   Olmert harming the country he holds so dear... 23:17  |  Esther 26/11/08
      17.   To Rafiq # 6 - Poor `ole innocent Olmert..... 23:19  |  Dagma 26/11/08
      18.   Olmert Lies Again Now he Won`t Step Down. Throw Him Out 23:31  |  Shepherd 26/11/08
      19.   Another Real Bad Idea 23:35  |  Brendan 26/11/08
      20.   Olmert`s legacy... 23:39  |  bat yam 26/11/08
      21.   Read:Olmert,contrary to hopes of the Lefties,said "NO" to pals 00:00  |  Absolute Sweden 27/11/08
      22.   difference between St. Paul and olmert 00:16  |  religion wiz 27/11/08
      23.   Corrupt AG Mazuz strikes again 01:15  |  Jack 27/11/08
      24.   1=Mark Lincoln Which country indeed ! 07:07  |  Akram Zekaria 27/11/08
      25.   No, no it is not what you think! There was no double billing! 07:33  |  Ehud Olmert, PM 27/11/08
      26.   The Conclusion of Olmert`s epic reign is transparent 08:50  |  Dagma 27/11/08
      27.   # 14 sorry cipora, olmert has been tried by public opinion... 09:03  |  eric 27/11/08
      28.   Olmert indictment 09:17  |  DT 27/11/08
      29.   #26, i am sorry to disappoint you eric 09:33  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 27/11/08
      30.   A bit late, who cares now he`s out. Kadima rotten to the core 09:52  |  Harvey 27/11/08
      31.   But Olmert already STEPPED DOEN OFFICIALLY! 09:52  |  Onlooker 27/11/08
      32.   eric #27 10:51  |  Esther 27/11/08
      33.   # 29 i have NO doubt of that, cipora 11:13  |  eric 27/11/08
      34.   Mr Olmert`s problems 11:31  |  Steve A 27/11/08
      35.   # 29 by the way cipora, i`ve been meaning to tell you... 11:39  |  eric 27/11/08
      36.   # 32 to esther with my very best regards 11:51  |  eric 27/11/08
      37.   Snide innuendos coming from Likud... 12:49  |  Esther 27/11/08
      38.   Livni will not succeed...... 14:11  |  Natasha 27/11/08
      39.   I didn`t suggest that the people of Israel 14:25  |  Mark Lincoln 27/11/08
      40.   What eludes Cipora in her knee-jerk opposition 14:31  |  Mark Lincoln 27/11/08
      41.   Olmert is to stupid to resign till hes backed into a corner 17:15  |  Kipperraes 27/11/08
      42.   Natasha? must be a real letdown to go from running 17:51  |  one of the biggest 27/11/08
      43.   #35, eric 17:55  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 27/11/08
      44.   Olmert, prove that you love your county better than yourself 23:46  |  Esther 27/11/08
      45.   # 43 to cipora re: style 23:49  |  eric 27/11/08
      46.   Still about to be 00:58  |  Mark Lincoln 28/11/08
      47.   that`s right livni; get your boss out of office; you don`t need 18:25  |  glenna 28/11/08
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