Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit indicated Thursday that he will turn down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request that he delay, until after the elections on April 9, his announcement on whether he will indict the prime minister on corruption charges, Israeli media reported.
The fact that ‘Israel’ is holding early elections “is none of my business… It’s not something that affects me,” Mandelblit told Channel 12 news in comments broadcast Thursday.
“I need to do my work as quickly as possible, although of course without compromising thoroughness and professionalism.”
Asked whether he intended to publish his conclusions before the elections, and whether it was important to do so, he said: “I am working as quickly as possible in order to get the work done and make the findings public — on condition that I am comfortable [with the findings] personally and professionally. Ultimately, it’s a question of professionalism.”
Meanwhile, in a letter to Netanyahu’s lawyer, which followed multiple reports that Mandelblit is poised to make a decision on an indictment by February, an official in the attorney general’s office said Thursday that the work would “not be delayed” and pointed out that the timetable for examining the evidence in the cases was established before early elections were called.
Media reports Thursday said that Mandelblit had concluded his examination of the evidence in the most severe of the three cases against the prime minister, dubbed by police “Case 4000,” and is leaning toward pursuing an indictment on bribery charges.
Source: 'Times of Israel'
