Olmert faces third criminal probe, calls to step aside

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz ordered the police to open a third criminal investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday.

The latest probe relates to Olmert's tenure as industry and trade minister in 2003-06. During this time, he allegedly made political appointments in the Small Business Administration and other government agencies. In addition, he allegedly intervened in decisions by the ministry's Investment Center in order to help clients of his longtime friend and former partner, attorney Uri Messer. Both probes are based primarily on investigations by the State Comptroller's Office, as well as investigative reports by journalists.

According to the Justice Ministry, however, a preliminary inquiry carried out by the police uncovered new material that was not included in the comptroller's reports, and this tipped the scales in favor of ordering a criminal probe. There had been doubts about whether the comptroller's reports alone sufficed to justify an investigation, it explained.

But even with the new material, a ministry official said, this will be "a wide-ranging and complex investigation. This is not the [former finance minister Abraham] Hirchson case, in which there were envelopes filled with cash that someone put in his pocket. Here we're talking about things that were done using much more elegant methods."

The two earlier probes relate to Olmert's purchase of a house on Jerusalem's Cremieux Street, on which he allegedly received discounts in return for helping the contractor obtain permits from the Jerusalem municipality, and the state's sale of Bank Leumi, in which Olmert allegedly tailored the terms of the tender to benefit a friend who was bidding.

In response to yesterday's decision, Olmert's bureau said: "These investigations are superfluous. It is clear beyond a doubt that these probes will end in nothing."

Noting that thus far, Mazuz has opened an investigation into every allegation made against the prime minister, the statement continued: "In practice, all suspicions and allegations, whether made wholeheartedly or halfheartedly, have been transferred in full to the police for handling."

Various politicians demanded yesterday that Olmert suspend himself due to the plethora of criminal investigations against him - a demand that Olmert swiftly rejected, saying that the probes would not prevent him from "being fully and energetically involved in fulfilling his [governmental] responsibilities." Some nongovernmental organizations are already threatening to petition the High Court of Justice against this refusal, arguing that the multiple investigations make it impossible for Olmert to devote the necessary attention to state affairs.