Lieberman is trying to fool us all

Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein, whose decision not to prosecute Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman over his financial dealings overseas (the "shell companies affair") baffled many, is now in the latter's crosshairs, bearing the brunt of his unrestrained criticism. Poetic justice indeed.

Weinstein's ill-conceived decision will be the subject of a new report recounting the behind-the-scenes deliberations. It is expected to come out shortly. Weinstein will not get to bask in the glory of having exposed this latest corruption affair (Affair 242 as it is officially known). Instead of holding his head up high as the person who helped Israel Police Commissioner Insp. Gen. Yohanan Danino unveil the alleged corruption of Yisrael Beytenu officials, he will be punished for his past lapses as the chief prosecutor. How ironic.

As usual, Lieberman said over the weekend that he approved of the police and its crackdown on criminals, so long as investigators apply the same standard to everyone.

But this statement is just part of the Yisrael Beytenu leader's two-pronged deception scheme.

Lieberman wants us to believe that Deputy Interior Minister Faina Kirshenbaum and other party officials have been singled out by investigators. According to Lieberman, the police chose to ignore the other white-collar criminals who were still on the loose, including those who had links to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Let's assume he is right. That doesn't mean Yisrael Beytenu was unfairly picked on. It just means that Olmert's former party, Kadima, got the kid glove treatment.

Lieberman has every right faulting the police for not cracking down on other offenders, but he has no right questioning the investigation against his own party.

The second instance of deception involves Lieberman crying foul over something that has yet to come to light.

For example, Olmert allegedly told his estranged bureau chief Shula Zaken that former Prime Minister Ehud Barak accepted bribe money. I keep asking myself, did Weinstein receive a letter asking him (perhaps even begging him) to launch a fast-track probe into Barak's alleged misconduct? Who was behind this letter-

Lieberman's vitriol against the State Attorney's Office and the police should be dismissed outright. The alleged crimes attributed to Yisrael Beytenu officials are major felonies. They are just as severe as the crimes committed by Ehud Olmert and his cronies -- the epitome of white-collar crimes. Of course, Yisrael Beytenu's offenses have yet to materialize into Olmert-level convictions. But the offenses are not measured just by the sums that were transacted and how many instances of criminality they involved.

Kirshenbaum realized this and offered to resign, only to retract her resignation following Lieberman's cajoling. She should have stuck to her decision; it was the right call. Perhaps he needs her to remain on the job so she can serve as a lightning rod of sorts.

But he may have inadvertently done her a disservice. He acted like the biblical counselor Ahitophel, who tried to dispense good advice but failed.

This affair involves Kirshenbaum, former Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and Yisrael Beytenu MK David Rotem. Kirshenbaum would be well served by brushing up on the history of corrupt officials. Former Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson spent 65 months in the big house. Had he heeded the advice of his attorney, Eldad Yaniv, he would have resigned when the investigation was at its infancy and struck a plea bargain far from the media spotlight. Zaken was almost sentenced to five years in prison because she agreed to lie at Olmert's trial. It is not too late for Kirshenbaum to do the right thing.