Olmert says 'personally hurt' by new suspicions
Moments before leaving for Paris, prime minister slams fresh police investigation against him. 'The attempts to link my family to this affair are despicable,' he says
Olmert spoke moments before leaving for the Mediterranean Forum in Paris hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on the backdrop of the publication of new fraud offenses he is suspected of.
The prime minister implied that the police had leaked the details of the investigation in a tendentious manner.
"The investigation and the publications surrounding it, as well as the leaks which followed shortly afterwards, breach of the norm of anything considered appropriate and just in a democratic regime.
"I was stunned by these distorted publications. The outcome of these publications could be damage to the legal institutions."
According to the latest accusations, several organizations were asked to fund Olmert's official trips abroad in his previous posts, with the funds being used to pay for the flights of his relatives as well.
The government bodies that allegedly funded such trips include the Association for the Soldiers of Israel, the Industry, Commerce, and Employment Ministry, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Olmert said he was personally hurt by the investigation.
"We are talking about institutions which I have helped for dozens of years, overseas as well, and have invested great energies and huge efforts with a multidimensional contribution. This is why the exploitation of this issue and the distorted publications hurt me personally."
Earlier Saturday, sources close to Olmert said, "We are witnessing an attempt to carry out a coup and oust a governing prime minister."
Olmert's associates harshly criticized the police, noting that the prime minister had worked for many years to raise funds totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars for the non-profit organizations associated with the affair.
"Olmert did not take money from these bodies," an aide to the prime minister said. "All he took was $2,000 for expenses, which did not even cover his expenses during the trips he took in order to raise funds for the associations."
