[redcarpet]

Herzog: I’ll cooperate with any police probe into my actions

Times of Israel

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog on Tuesday said he will cooperate with any police investigation into his election financing irregularities in an effort to bring a probe to a close “as soon as possible.”

The Zionist Union leader was responding to reports on Monday night that police were seeking to question him under caution on graft allegations.

“I will cooperate in order to close this case as soon as possible,” Herzog said, according to Army Radio.

At the end of last month, Herzog was named as a second senior Israeli Knesset member suspected of graft, following suspicions that he improperly financed a campaign for the Labor Party’s leadership in 2013.

The news came a day after Interior Minister Aryeh Deri — who spent several years in prison for embezzlement — revealed he was again at the center of a major corruption investigation.

Police have sought permission to investigate Herzog from Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, Channel 2 News reported Monday, also revealing that Herzog’s former campaign manager, Shimon Batat, has already been interviewed under caution in connection with campaign funding violations.

While Monday’s TV report said police were merely leaning toward grilling Herzog under caution, the Army Radio report on Tuesday indicated that police were set to formally launch a criminal investigation into the Zionist Union leader.

Being questioned under caution is often a precursor to the opening of a criminal probe.

To date, the only person convicted and sentenced to a jail term for internal party funding offenses has been Omri Sharon, son of the late prime minister Ariel Sharon.

Former MK Naomi Blumenthal (Likud) was convicted of bribing 15 party activists and central committee members during Likud primaries in December 2003 by inviting them to a Ramat Gan hotel.

In a June 2014 report, former State Comptroller Yosef Shapira determined that Herzog had exceeded the limit on expenses allowed in the Labor Party leadership primaries against Yachimovich but that he had not broken the law.

Accepting Herzog’s explanation that an “innocent accounting mistake” had been made, Shapira decided against any financial sanction against the party leader.

In a newsletter sent to supporters at the end of last week, Herzog said he had received thousands of offers of support which gave him the feeling “that there’s a home and friends who can be relied upon.”

“After publication about the inquiry, I asked to bring the rumor factory to an end, to conclude the investigation on the subject as quickly as possible and to allow me to come and give answers to all the questions in order to put this saga behind us.”

He added: “We cannot accept a phenomenon by which interested parties try to bring up complaints and claims in order to force an investigation every time it seems that coalitions break up or before every election. This is a dangerous phenomenon for a democracy.

Last week, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said talks about bringing Zionist Union into the governing coalition stalled when the suspicions concerning Herzog came to light.

Herzog exercised his right to remain silent when he was investigated in 1999 as cabinet secretary, in connection with alleged campaign funding irregularities on the part of then-prime minister Ehud Barak.

Hopefully just garbage, perhaps to discredit him and Labor.

[Zionist Nationalist]

Its not just garbage and its not surprising.
he was unpopular anyway (well he lost the elections by a big margin even though the polls predicted stalemate)
IMO his party dont have any chance of winning the elections as long as they have people like him that lack charisma and seems weak to the public

And BTW my parents have voted for the labor in all elections except the last one because herzog is a douchebag (but they didnt voted for netanyahu either and I also didnt voted for him)

[redcarpet]

Its not just garbage and its not surprising.

Pardon me, it may be a wording problem on your part, but not sure what you mean by this. Do you mean as in it is both garbage and something else as well?

[Zionist Nationalist]

I meant that its a real case that was revealed by some politican. and BTW herzog threatened that whoever revealed this will be "punished" he threatening people like some gangster.

[redcarpet]

I meant that its a real case that was revealed by some politican. and BTW herzog threatened that whoever revealed this will be "punished" he threatening people like some gangster.

You mean like the 1999 example, that, despite no court conviction, you personally are convinced?

[Zionist Nationalist]

even if there wasnt any court conviction that dosent mean that he is clean. there are ways to dodge conviction.

the fact that he had dirty business back in 99 when he wasnt a famous politican means alot.

[redcarpet]

even if there wasnt any court conviction that dosent mean that he is clean. there are ways to dodge conviction.

the fact that he had dirty business back in 99 when he wasnt a famous politican means alot.

True, people can be guilty of crimes and not caught, etc.

Is there a website you can link on this stuff?

[redcarpet]

Evidence likely insufficient to indict Herzog

Times of Israel

— reportPolice expected to recommend closing probe into opposition chief’s suspected financing irregularities, Channel 2 says

Police haven’t amassed enough evidence for an indictment against opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog after a preliminary probe into suspected campaign financing irregularities, and are likely to recommend closing the case against him, Channel 2 reported Sunday.

Going to be dropped, it looks like