Thread by @NTarnopolsky

Its not as dramatic as a Congressional hearing, but there's weird stuff happening behind the scenes of Netanyahu's legal imbroglio. Short thread:

Netanyahu appears willing to try anything to make the pre-indictment & anyone associated with it disappear. In July, Netanyahu's interim justice minister fired the universally respected Justice Ministry Director General

https://twitter.com/NTarnopolsky/status/1153643061718786049

There are naked attempts at reprisal against civil servants. In June, the appointment of Liat Ben-Ari, who led the corruption case against Netanyahu, as dep. State Attorney was delayed when the Civil Service Commissioner received an anonymous letter written by

“concerned prosecutors,” who claimed her appointment was part of an effort to "force AG Mandelblit to indict Netanyahu." (Subtle, right?)

The claims were dismissed & she was supposed to be appointed today when the acting DG launched a quixotic attempt to cancel the entire post of deputy state attorney. It failed. She got the job. But Stste's Attorney Shai Nitzan slammed the attempt.

Since the existence of criminal investigations into the prime minister's actions became public, Netanyahu has claimed they will end "in nothing." "They'll find nothing because there's nothing there," he likes to say. Three days ago, Netanyahu was expected to present a detailed

response to the AG, countering evidence in each of the cases he's embroiled in.
Instead, Netanyahu sent a single page void of *any* explanation to back his claims of innocence. haaretz.com/israel-news/el…

Nothing-- because he has no new evidence?
Nothing-- because he wants to surprise the AG?
Nothing-- because he's mocking the AG?
Nothing-- because he's thumbing his nose at the rule of law?

Earlier, Netanyahu said he'd only send lawyers to the judicial hearing. Today he posted a clip requesting the AG broadcast the hearing Live. I cannot tell you how clownish, how weird this is in Israel's dusty legal context. Broadcast Live? Like Bibi's dramatic announcements?

“After a 3-year flood of biased, selective leaks," Netanyahu whined,"the time has come for the public to hear everything, including my side, complete and fully— without mediators, without censorship and without distortions.” Sounds like he wanted to the hearing to be a circus act

Tbh, if there is one thing Israelis are done with, its the same old Netanyahu complaints. Everybody knows "his side." Even his supporters chuckle when repeating his side.

Mandelblit is a reserved guy, wary of publicity, who usually speaks in measured, fusty legalese. Not today. Today, surprised by the vid, it took him an hour to gather his thoughts & then he went BAM. “The request is unprecedented and without legal merit,” he wrote.

The purpose of the hearing is "not to convince the public,” he said, pointedly suggesting Netanyahu’s attorneys should do their damn jobs. “It would have been better if instead of raising useless requests knowing they will not be accepted, you fulfilled your statutory obligation

ahead of the for the hearing process," Mandelblit continued, "in particular by sending in reasoned and detailed principal arguments.” In short, Mandelblit is sick of being a permanent side show of Netanyahu's traveling circus, and was not impressed by the non-submission of docs.

Stay tuned for the actual hearing next week. Its unclear if Netanyahu is playing his usual game, in which everything is an opportunity for PR, or if he and his lawyers really do not grasp the severity of the charges. hard to believe, but we live in weird times.

Finally read about the ex head of Israel's Bar Assoc, who exchanged judgeships for sex. After wondering who'd sleep with that matchstick for any reason, focus on this: a confidant of ex JusticeMin Shaked, he gave courtrooms to conservative women he bedded timesofisrael.com/police-recomme…

PS. With all the giddy Trump/Netanyahu comparisons out there I feel obliged to underscore that Bibi has not called for the execution of a Deep State Spy. For now, he simply prefers the hearing become a spectacle. Can't blame the guy.

There's more, and its rather shocking. We've just received a press release from PM Netanyahu in which he refers to himself in the third person and refers to the judicial proceedings against him as a lynch.

"The attorney general's decision is disappointing. He said the hearing was not intended to persuade the public, but over the past 4 years investigations against Prime Minister Netanyahu have been accompanied by hundreds of criminal, hostile and slanted leaks from the

same investigations, aimed at the public and to create a media storm against the prime minister." He then accuses the AG of refusing to probe any of his formsl complsints against the leaks & says they'll continue throughout the hearing along with the unfair press briefings.

Back to text: "All this is equal to a prime ministerial field trial, unbearable in democracy, so it would have been proper to remedy the situation by opening the hearing's doors to the general public, for the public to be exposed to all the facts, not only to tendentious leaks."

He then says "the claim that this is an unprecedented step is irrelevant," followed by teo examples which are, in reality, irrelevant. Now the kicker:

"What is truly unprecedented is the media lynching of the prime minister, evening after evening, fueled by tendentious leaks against the prime minister, which can be remedied only by transparency." FIN