Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said Thursday that he would consider limiting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s
involvement in certain issues in light of the criminal investigation launched against him over the Bank Leumi affair.
Meanwhile, Police Chief Moshe Karadi has instructed Major General Yohanan Danino, head of the police's investigation and intelligence unit, to refrain from briefing him about the details of the Bank Leumi affair, this according to a statement from the attorney general's office in response to a query on the matter.
The reason for the unusual order stems from an effort to exude the utmost caution to avoid a potential conflict of interests as both Karadi and Olmert are being legally represented by Eli Zohar.
The decision to launch the probe was taken by the State Comptroller and not by Mazuz, who chose not to rule on the matter to avoid a conflict of interests due to the role his sister played in the bank's sale in her capacity as legal advisor at the Finance Ministry.
On Wednesday Lawyer Yossi Fuchs petitioned the High Court of Justice to suspend Olmert in light of the current police investigation against him.
"This suspicion is of serious crimes, including bribery, and it is unreasonable that a prime minister with such a heavy cloud hovering over his head should continue in his position," said Fuchs said in a letter to Mazuz.
Fuchs said legal precedents to such a move have already been set during in the affairs involving former Ministers Haim Ramon and Tzachi Hanegbi and current Strategic Affaires Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
“Past experience from previous investigations teaches us that decisions made by a prime minister who is under criminal investigation do not always coincide with the good of the state,” Fuchs said in response to Mazuz’s comments.