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Talansky: Don't know how Olmert spent funds I gave him
By Barak Ravid and Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies
Tags: Israel, Morris Talansky 

American businessman Morris Talansky, a key witness in an ongoing investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's suspected financial corruption, on Sunday denied any illegal activities or wrongdoing in the alleged affair.

In an interview with Channel 10, Talansky said that the money he had given Olmert prior to the prime minister's victory in the 2006 elections was not "in any way illegal or wrong."

Talansky said he thought the money he raised was for Olmert's election
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ampaigns. He added that while he had not heard otherwise, he could not now verify how the prime minister had spent the money.

He heatedly denied trying to bribe Olmert and declared that he has no business interests in Israel and had no intention to make money there. "It never crossed my mind," he said.

Talansky told Channel 10 he was cooperating with police. "I am not in
any way hiding anything, they asked me the questions and I told them the
entire truth... I have absolutely nothing to cover or to hide."

Report: Talansky paid Olmert's $4,717 hotel bill in 2005

The New York Times reported earlier Sunday that Talansky had paid Olmert's $4,717 one-night hotel bill at the Ritz Carlton in Washington in 2005.

According to the report, Talansky paid Olmert's bill via a company the supplies minibars to hotels. The company's lawyer confirmed in an interview that Olmert was in fact the hotel guest whose bill was covered by the company in 2005. The attorney added that he did not know whether Omert was aware that it was Talansky who had paid the bill.

Meanwhile, Talansky's close associate on Sunday said that the businessman key witness would deny all charges that he gave bribes during future questioning.

Talansky is suspected of giving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Olmert during his tenures as Jerusalem mayor and as minister of industry and trade in former prime minister Ariel Sharon's government.

The Jerusalem District Court on Friday accepted the prosecutor's request to hear Talansky's preliminary testimony, after he said that the witness had expressed concern to police that Olmert would send someone to harm him.

Olmert is expected to appeal the decision to allow preliminary testimony.

The Jerusalem court has ruled that the sessions of early testimony will be open, even though the state sought to hold the sessions behind closed doors.

A source close to Talansky, who asked not to be named, vowed to testify that Talansky did raise funds for Olmert, but did so in a legitimate and legal fashion. The source denied that Talansky will be used as a state witness in the case.

Olmert is expected to say in his defense that the allegations against him are not about bribery but campaign financing. He will plead that similar charges were made against other prime ministers, such Ariel Sharon and Ehud Barak.

Olmert will not be available for another interview with the police this week due to U.S. President George W. Bush's visit.

Olmert has already been disseminating this line to the political system and the public via the media, and is believed to have said as much to the police officers who questioned him.

"I never took bribes, I never took a penny for myself," Olmert said in a televised address last Thursday night.

He acknowledged that he received funds from Talansky, whom he said he met two decades ago, as part of campaign contributions when he twice ran for mayor of Jerusalem.

Olmert's attorneys are preparing to appeal to the Supreme Court against the state prosecutor's intention to hear preliminary testimony from Talansky.

Police are also considering the possibility of arranging early testimony for attorney Uri Messer, a central witness in the case, due to his frail health. Messer, a close associate of Olmert's, is suspected of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Talansky to pass on to Olmert and his former bureau chief Shula Zaken.

Olmert: I have no complaints against judiciary

Meanwhile Sunday, at a weekly cabinet meeting, Olmert announced that he had no complaints against the State Prosecutor's office, nor against the police, who are jointly conducting the investigation into his conduct.

Olmert responded to comments made by Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, who said earlier in the meeting that he didn't want the public to get the impression that the ministers of Olmert's Kadima party were against the police and the prosecution. Olmert said to Dichter "I've spoken to you in private - I told you what I told you and it should be clear that I have no complaints against prosecution or the police."

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni did not address the issue of the criminal investigation during the meeting. Last week, when the affair broke, Livni expressed faith in the law enforcement authorities, but in contrast to other politicians, did not voice hope that Olmert will be exonerated.

Olmert had presented his views on campaign funding about 18 months ago, when he testified before the committee drafting the code for ministers' ethics. The committee was headed by Justice Meir Shamgar.

According to the protocol of his testimony received by Haaretz, Olmert apparently believes that the existing legislation is not compatible with the needs of running election campaigns. "We brought it to an extreme which is fertile soil for corruptibility ... it encourages techniques to bypass the law," he said.

Olmert told the committee that the sums permitted by law were unrealistic. He said there were many rich, patriotic people who want to contribute more than the permitted NIS 1,800 or NIS 5,000 and seek other ways to do so.

He urged the authorities not to prohibit campaign contributions of any sum providing they were given openly.

"Decide that a man who made his money honestly is able to contribute NIS 1 million, only on election eve, and all these contributions will be published in the media," he said. "If [Arcadi] Gaydamak wants to give me a contribution, the public should know that Gaydamak is financing me."

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      1.   "Similar" charges vs Sharon & Barak? Pls explain similarity to me 09:14  |  S 11/05/08
      2.   Wasting Money on Baloney 09:24  |  Steve 11/05/08
      3.   What did Peres know, and when did he know it? 10:21  |  Binyamin Dissen 11/05/08
      4.   Give Olmert a lie detector test. 10:57  |  fred 11/05/08
      5.   Would u say "Kleptocrat" applies? 11:15  |  the same movie again 11/05/08
      6.   "not bribery but campaign financing" - Omri Sharon is in prison! 11:25  |  redmike 11/05/08
      7.   Olmert should resign 14:24  |  Simon 11/05/08
      8.   $4k?! are you kidding me! 14:39  |  bashar 11/05/08
      9.   Pathetic Media 15:01  |  gabriel 11/05/08
      10.   What on earth makes a hotel room worth $$ 4`417...???? 15:51  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/05/08
      11.   Olmert?s explanations are unacceptable excuses. 16:24  |  H.H.M 11/05/08
      12.   Hotel Bill 16:40  |  eran spiro 11/05/08
      13.   Why now...? 17:03  |  Esther 11/05/08
      14.   bibi`s hotel bill 17:10  |  citizen 11/05/08
      15.   Olmert can I lend you five bucks? 17:33  |  Zev 11/05/08
      16.   Proper English 17:51  |  Shlomo 11/05/08
      17.   YES, ITS POLITICS NOT CORRUPTION 18:43  |  JOJO 11/05/08
      18.   Hookers are expensive 19:12  |  Asylum Aleikum 11/05/08
      19.   Esther #13 In the name of the "guys" : 19:32  |  S 11/05/08
      20.   The same than Bibi in London! 19:45  |  Ulf 11/05/08
      21.   So what.... 19:58  |  inisrael 11/05/08
      22.   sderot 21:26  |  saulie 11/05/08
      23.   much ado about nothing so far 21:39  |  Mike 11/05/08
      24.   Re S #19... dramatic declaration... 21:59  |  Esther 11/05/08
      25.   Goodbye to Talanskys 22:09  |  Moshe 11/05/08
      26.   Wow, how easy it is to manufacture an issue... 22:31  |  Smadar 11/05/08
      27.   Top Kadima Officials throw their full support for Olmert 22:37  |  Dolly 11/05/08
      28.   Re S #19 22:54  |  Esther 11/05/08
      29.   "I never took bribes, I never took a penny for myself," Olmert sa 23:18  |  hollingsworth 11/05/08
      30.   Despite Top Kadima Officials Support for OLMERT 00:04  |  Dagma 12/05/08
      31.   If those at the top must steal to survive 01:38  |  Nobody Cares 12/05/08
      32.   Esther #28 about being dramatic 08:43  |  S 12/05/08
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