Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's attorneys submitted an urgent request to the Jerusalem District Court on Thursday asking that all the materials from their client's third round of questioning, scheduled for Friday, be transferred to them immediately following the interview, as well as all investigation materials pertaining to the case.
Olmert is to be questioned over suspicions he illicitly received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Jewish American millionaire Morris Talansky over the course of 15 years.
On Thursday morning, Olmert's attorneys announced that since the defense team had yet to receive all the investigation materials from the prosecution, they would not be able to complete the cross examination of Talansky, the key witness in the case, on the previously scheduled 5-day cross examination on July 17, and would have to summon him for further cross examinations.
In response, Talansky's defense team said that their client would testify in accordance with the demands of the court, and if the cross examination should last longer than expected, he would coordinate his return to Israel with the court. The lawyers added that Talansky has nothing to hide and intends to cooperate fully with the investigation.
In their request to the court, Olmert's lawyers reveal that prosecution attorney Eli Abarbanel had told them that the investigation materials would not be transferred to them even when the investigation is complete, and therefore they will not have access to it by the date of Talansky's cross examination.
According to Olmert's lawyers, Abarbanel's announcement contradicts the prosecution's promise to the district court and to the Supreme Court that the materials will be given to Olmert's lawyers prior to the July 17 cross examination. They argue that State Prosecutor Moshe Lador pledged before the court that he would only delay materials by several hours at most if the defense should request to view it.
Olmert's attorney Eli Zohar said the evidence includes testimonies given by Talansky's business associates in the United States, as well as bank records for accounts he ran during the years under investigation.
This evidence, Zohar says, could "shed light on the financial dealings that have raised so many questions."
Zohar also said he had been informed that if Olmert's legal team and his former bureau chief Shula Zaken request a delay of Talansky's cross investigation, the prosecution will agree to the delay.
Zaken's lawyers said Wednesday that the police sent prosecutors additional evidence relating to her previous testimony, including nine notebooks of material collected in the U.S..
The attorneys added that the material does not include additional testimony but does contain evidence that Israel police have reportedly not yet seen.
Olmert's attorneys have said that considering that the new evidence would arrive only shortly before the cross examination, they would not have sufficient time to prepare and would thus need to delay or extend the cross examination of Talansky.
Police: We'll get tougher with Olmert on corruption probe
This Friday's questioning of Olmert is going to be dramatic, police officers said, adding that they'll be "taking off the kid gloves."
Police officials unleashed unprecedented criticism of the prime minister in response to statements by Olmert's media adviser that the police had leaked details of the investigation in order to lead the main witness Talansky.
A source said on Wednesday that Olmert was trying to scare his investigators, and had "crossed a very dangerous red line. He is grinding down the legitimacy of the law enforcement system he is entrusted with."
Olmert's media adviser, Amir Dan, said on Wednesday, "Over the past few days, the police have used the unacceptable system of leading witnesses and coordinating versions by leaking selected investigation material to the media. The police may not talk to Talansky before the cross-examination and therefore they have found an alternative route to send him messages before he testifies next week."
Dan also said the conduct of the police would "certainly be probed in the future, and it must be stopped immediately. This means of transmitting messages to Talansky will probably continue until he testifies, and I wouldn't be surprised if they leak details of the prime minister's questioning on Friday."
The prime minister is scheduled to be questioned at his home this Friday for the third time, regarding hundreds of thousands of illicit dollars he allegedly received from Talansky over 15 years.
Police officials said on Wednesday that investigators would be tougher with Olmert in the wake of Dan's statements, and that they would "question Olmert fearlessly. Our goal is to get to the truth."
An officer added, "This time we won't let him play games. This time, it will be the police who dictate how the investigation goes. We will not let him take phone calls during the questioning and we will not let him scold investigators, like he did last time. Olmert will not be able to play for time at the expense of the investigation."
Dan said on Wednesday, "This is an expected response from the police. I would have been surprised if they said anything else. It's a great pity that today, too, the leaks continue. Citizen Ehud Olmert also has rights."
Meanwhile, Sharon Tzur, the former Likud activist and reputed Olmert confidante who runs Media Watch International, a pro-Israel media watchdog group in New York, was questioned at the Israeli Consulate in New York by Israeli police on Wednesday.
Police superintendents Lior Weiss and Tzachi Havkin, who are conducting the probe in the U.S., have questioned about 15 witnesses over the past two weeks.
"Not all the investigative material has been sent to Israel, but our preliminary impression is that the probe [in the U.S.] has strengthened the evidence against Olmert and has not cleared the suspicions," police sources said on Wednesday.
Other sources close to the case said: "Evidence collected in Israel in recent weeks, including the detailed testimony of [Olmert confidant] attorney Uri Messer, has only strengthened the case against Olmert. Messer gave a measured and levelheaded version, and also gave significant material against Olmert regarding other cases in which he is a suspect."
Tzur was asked about her relationship with Talansky, who told police she had been present at at least at one meeting when Olmert received an envelope containing thousands of dollars.
Talansky said Olmert registered at the hotel under the name Mr. Risby, the surname of the travel coordinator at the Prime Minister's Office, Rachel Risby.
Several media outlets have been reporting that Tzur's testimony would back Olmert's version and discount Talansky's statements that she was aware of the money exchange between the two.
Businessman Ron Lauder said on Wednesday that in contrast to what Haaretz reported on Wednesday, he never donated money to Media Watch International.
Tzur took a leave of absence a few days ago from Media Watch International, and could not be reached for comment.
Tzur's name has come up on previous occasions in the Olmert probe, and the National Fraud Investigations Unit has checked whether Tzur was involved in the affair.
Law enforcement sources said Tzur's name came up repeatedly during their initial inquiries into the Talansky affair, but upon further investigation, none of the information seemed to indicate she was truly involved in the case, and therefore, they decided to focus on Talansky.
