State refuses to divulge any new information in Olmert case

The State Prosecutor's Office informed the Jerusalem District Court Sunday that it will not give Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's attorneys any more material regarding the ongoing investigation into the Talansky Affair.

Olmert's attorneys filed a motion asking the court to order the State to give them all and any new material gathered in the case against the prime minister in the interest of full disclosure.

The State explained its refusal by saying that it believes divulging any further material may hinder the State's case: "While divulging any further material at this stage will not assist the (PM's legal team) in their future cross examination of Mr. Talansky, it may cause serious harm to the ongoing search of the truth in this case," said State Prosecutor Moshe Lador in the rebuttal.

"We respectfully ask the court to either deny the motion or set a hearing in the matter."

Lador went on to explain that since the prime minister is currently under investigation on suspicions of fraud, tax evasion, receipt of fraudulent benefits and a slew of other offences "handing over any of the new investigative material may seriously hinder the investigation."

Attorneys Eli Zohar and Roee Belchar, for Olmert, as well as attorney Micha Pettman representing Olmert’s former bureau chief Shula Zaken, informed the court last week that the State had notified them that it has no intention of divulging any of the new material gathered by the police in the case, including the depositions collected from witnesses in the US.

In a letter sent to the PM's legal team by Jerusalem District Prosecutor Eli Abarbanel, detailing the State's position on the matter, the latter added that the State "will refrain from divulging said material at this point, in order to protect the integrity of the investigation. We hope we would be able to give it to you in the foreseeable future."