Throughout this week we have been hunting for Edgar Allan Poe's proverbial raven, the individual who supposedly reached out to Shula Zaken from the shadows as she was being questioned by the police, and dissuaded her from telling the truth about former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's alleged dark deeds. The clues were all there, but it was only on Thursday, when the State Attorney's Office announced that it would be seeking a stay of the verdict to allow the police to investigate Olmert again, that it became clear that what we had most feared was true -- the proverbial raven is, as expected, Olmert himself, and he is now suspected of obstruction of justice. This twist of legal fate was a given. Zaken was clamoring for the opportunity to say her piece, and the High Court of Justice's decision to deny a motion by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel seeking to compel the State Attorney's Office to offer her a plea bargain that would secure her testimony, essentially left the state plenty of wiggle room, which they used to craft into an effective result. Naturally, Olmert and his communications adviser Amir Dan slammed the decision, as they have other aspects of the trial, and Zaken now has the dubious honor of joining a long list of slandered witnesses. Ever since Olmert's defense attorney Roy Blecher denounced her as a liar on Channel 2, it seems that the verbal dam has been broken. Olmert and Dan's hysterical reaction on Thursday, however, only proves that the former prime minister is well aware of the gravity of the information that is about to be revealed. For the good of the case and unfortunately for the public, a gag order has been placed on the new suspicions against Olmert, and what little has been published has been obscured to afford him the presumption of innocence. Generally, it can be said that if presiding Judge David Rozen grants the state's request for a stay of verdict, if Zaken takes the stand and is subjected to what is sure to be a rigorous cross-examination by Olmert's lawyers, and if at the end of the day the court acknowledges her testimony as relevant, than the last line of defense Olmert has put up to protect himself from the allegations detailed in the Talansky, double-billing and Holyland cases will crumble to dust. Being a veteran warhorse, Olmert has dismissed the new allegations and immediately began mounting a slanderous counterattack. But in his lonely state, when this "black raven" no longer has anyone or anywhere to turn to, knowing that the future fight would only subject his loved ones to hundreds of embarrassing headlines, knowing he is most likely facing a grave sentence and knowing that for him, the road to redemption can only being in a jail cell, Olmert would do better to have his lawyers ask the State Attorney's Office to strike a plea bargain. His loved ones expect him to spare them the last battle. They have had enough.
