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Last update - 21:32 14/05/2008 Messer may be witness for the prosecution in Olmert probe By Ofra Edelman and Tomer Zarchin, Haaretz Correspondents Tags: Ehud Olmert, Investigation  The details of a May 6 hearing at the Jerusalem District Court, in which the state requested that U.S. businessman and fund-raiser Morris Talansky give a preliminary testimony in the investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, were released on Wednesday. The hearing was held within the framework of an ongoing criminal investigation into suspicions that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took bribes from Talansky during his tenures as Jerusalem mayor and later as trade minister. Jerusalem District Court President Moussia Arad granted a request submitted by the newspapers Yedioth Ahronoth and Maariv to publish the contents, with the exception of two sections, of the May 6 hearing. Advertisement The transcripts quoted Jerusalem District Prosecutor Eli Abarbanel as saying, "We see a possible scenario in which attorney Uri Messer will be a witness for the prosecution and not be accused." This was in response to a question about why Messer, Olmert's former business partner and close friend, was not asked to be a respondent. Attorneys representing the prime minister and his former bureau chief Shula Zaken had wondered why their clients were the only ones listed as respondents [to the request for Talansky's testimony], giving the impression that they, and not Messer, were the main suspects being considered for indictment in the affair. Olmert has insinuated that if there had been any wrongdoing surrounding funds coming from Talansky, it was Messer who perpetrated it. "If an indictment is issued, it will likely be issued against the two respondents before us, and separately against attorney Messer," said Abarabanel, "and that is because of the content of Messer's comments during the investigation. He is liable to be a witness for the prosecution against Respondent 1 [Olmert]." Abarbanel added, "There are additional legal and practical findings with regard to attorney Messer that I do not need to go into detail about here, but his situation is different." He also said that at that point in time, Olmert was the central figure in the affair. "He is suspected of receiving the money, using it, having requested it, he is the senior public official, so there is no comparison between him and others." Olmert's attorney, Eli Zohar, claimed during the hearing that "respondent 1 has clear answers to all the questions posed to him. His argument is that the funds Talansky collected were transferred to Shula Zaken, who handed them to Messer in his capacity as head of the association that ran Olmert's mayoral campaign, and that the funds were used during three separate election cycles." The Jerusalem District Court earlier on Wednesday ruled that preliminary testimony from Talansky will be heard on May 25, and that his testimony in the investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be videotaped and transcribed. The state on Tuesday asked the Jerusalem District Court to take a statement from Talansky as soon as possible, in light of the fact that the injunction barring him from leaving the country was set to expire on May 21. The investigation into Olmert's conduct continued on Tuesday to focus on the search for any quid pro quo that Olmert might have provided Talansky in exchange for the hundreds of thousands of dollars he is suspected of having given to Olmert. Also Tuesday, police questioned billionaire U.S. businessmen Sheldon Adelson and S. Daniel Abraham in connection with the investigation. Both men are in Israel to attend the Presidential Conference hosted by President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem this week. Real estate tycoon Adelson on Tuesday provided a sworn statement to detectives. Police believe that Olmert wrote to him and at least one other major hotel owner and asked them to buy mini-bar refrigerators for their properties made by a company in which Talansky had a stake at the time. Talansky himself is thought to be behind the letter, which did not result in purchase orders. Israeli law-enforcement authorities on Tuesday confirmed that both Adelson and Abraham were questioned by police in connection with the investigation but emphasized that they are not suspects and that their statements were intended to establish Olmert's pattern of behavior and that he acted in Talansky's favor. Earlier on Tuesday, detectives from the police's National Fraud Unit raided offices at the Trade and Industry Ministry in their widening search for a paper trail showing the alleged money trail between Talansky and Olmert. Police did not raid the minister's office, as they did in a previous search in a different Olmert investigation, focusing instead on the ministry's correspondence archive. Related articles: Talansky's funds paid debts from PM's mayoral campaigns Bonds between PM, cronies begin to crack Kadima members berate Livni for silence on PM probe Bookmark to del.icio.us   Grass is greener For the cannabis-growing residents of Lebanon, recent fighting has been a blessing. Piggy bank savings Welfare Minister Herzog unveils a plan to open savings accounts for every Israeli child.   1.   Give it a rest already.... 18:22  |  Tali 14/05/08   2.   To Tali # 1 - No Rest ! 19:47  |  Orpheus 14/05/08   3.   # 1 To Tali - Are you Olmert`s cousin....? 20:20  |  charlie 14/05/08   4.   Witness for the Prosecution - Messer. 22:03  |  Dagma 14/05/08   5.   Twisting meanings... 22:21  |  Esther 14/05/08   6.   Messer will lose his lawyer licence if witness 10:44  |  Ulf 15/05/08

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