Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's legal situation has become even more complicated now that his former bureau chief Shula Zaken has handed over the secret recordings of their conversations. Investigators are trying to determine whether he had obstructed justice during the Holyland trial and other trials. But the investigation may go even beyond that.
On Friday, Channel 1 anchorwoman Ayala Hasson said that when the two met in December 2013 -- their most recent meeting -- Olmert had the feeling Zaken was wired. Olmert is lucky in the sense that Judge David Rozen he might listen to the "Zaken tapes" when he reviews the terms of Zaken's plea bargain and only once Olmert had been sentenced (at the latter's request). This will ensure the recordings bear no impact on Olmert's sentence.
This dramatic development comes just six days after Olmert and his cronies launched an all-out offensive on to impeach the magnificent verdict Rozen handed down. Every single one of Olmert's henchmen -- media people, lawyers and friends -- answered their call of duty. They tried to pick apart the verdict by highlighting unimportant clauses, all the while ignoring the very substance of the ruling. They beat around the bush by refusing to talk about the crux of the verdict: that Olmert took bribes in at least two separate occasions (among his friends, former Knesset speaker Avraham Burg was the only one who showed some due deference to Rozen's decision, although he offset that by lamenting Olmert's fate).
Former Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On and former Israel Broadcasting Authority director Yitzhak Livni are Olmert's big guns, alongside Dov Weissglass, who served as a special envoy during Olmert's premiership. Weissglass, who appeared on Hasson's program on Friday night, faced an embarrassing situation when he mistakenly said the testimony offered by the late state witness Shmuel Dechner led to Olmert's conviction. After Weissglass made this assertion he was told that this was not true; in fact, when Rozen read the verdict he noted that Dechner's testimony complemented solid evidence, not the other way around.
Later, Weissglasss could be seen texting someone on the set. This was not lost on Hasson, who wanted to know who was on the other end.
Olmert's apologists say the extensive media coverage has compromised due process; the media was complicit in sub judice by casting him as a criminal even before the verdict was read, they lamented. But it was Olmert's people who hurt the judicial proceedings by besmirching former State Attorney Moshe Lador and a whole lineup of witnesses during Olmert's previous trial, which focused on the cash-stuffed envelopes Olmert's bureau had received from American businessman Morris Talansky and the double-billing scheme that was used to fund Olmert's overseas travels. Just recall what he said on Talansky after the latter testified about the cash he had sent Olmert's way. Olmert engaged in the same tactics during the Holyland trial.
Journalist Haim Rivlin told Israel Radio this week that when he approached the police over the suspected improprieties in the Holyland housing project, the head of the Israel Police Investigations and Intelligence Division Yoav Segalovich dismissed his findings as nothing more than an "urban legend." But the next day, then-Attorney General Menachem (Meni) Mazuz told then Israel Police Commissioner Insp. Gen. David (Dudi) Cohen that he better launch an inquiry or else he would have some explaining to do.
Segalovich and the rest of the Israel Police ultimately came to their senses; investigators worked tirelessly to uncover the truth. They backed the state when it struck an immunity deal with Dechner, a deal that was devised by Lador and supervised by Mazuz. This led to the exposure of the worst corruption case in Israeli history. The police has recently launched a new probe into Olmert's alleged misconduct. Like in any archaeological dig, the police must not stop until it reaches the underlying bedrock.
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