Olmert questioned on obstruction of justice, week after graft conviction
Former prime minister faces new charges in the Holyland affair, as well as 'Rishon Tours' and 'Talansky cash envelopes' investigations.
A week after his conviction for bribe-taking in the Holyland consruction project in Jerusalem, former prime minster Ehud Olmert was interrogated Monday morning over allegations of obstruction of justice, following a deal between his former bureau chief Shula Zaken and the State Prosecution.
Olmert was expected to face questioning over allegations that he tried to persuade Zaken to withhold information that could implicate him in the Holyland investigation, and be confronted with tapes of recorded conversations between the two.
Aside from the obstruction of justice accusations relating to the Holyland construction case, Olmert is expected to be questioned over similar allegations in two other investigations - the "Rishon Tours" and "Talansky" affairs.
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Olmert's associated cried foul Monday, arguing that the former prime minister was still reeling from his guilty conviction last week.
"We would have expected the prosecution to show a certain amount of humanity," said Olmert's spokesman, Amir Dan. "Its insistence on having the police interrogate Olmert just few days after his conviction, as he is starting to prepare for sentencing, serves two purposes - to break Olmert's spirit at all costs, and improperly influence the sentencing procedure. This is a man who has been dragged through the mud for eight long years and just a few days ago had an unexpected blow that would alone ruin anyone."
Dan accused the state prosecution of trying to sway the outcome of further legal proceedings against Olmert.
"The prosecution's insistence stems from the embarrassing dilemma it was caught in after the court rejected the puzzling agreement with Shula Zaken, an agreement they are now trying to justify. Once again we are claiming that the interrogation and the accompanying headlines continue to pollute the judicial process, which has not yet finished, in an attempt to influence the court and its decisions on Olmert's case in the coming weeks," Dan added.
Zaken told the investigators that Olmert called her after she was questioned in 2008 over the Morris Talansky "cash envelopes" affair and well as the "Rishon Tours" case.
Talansky was a an American businessman who cofounded with Olmert the New Jerusalem Foundation and is suspected of giving Olmert millions of shekels in cash for illegal campaign funding over a period of 15 years.
The Rishon Tours case focused on suspicions that Olmert double and triple-billed overseas trips to Jewish institutions, pocketing the difference or financing trips for relatives.
Furthermore, Zaken told prosecutors that Olmert had spoken to her about the details of her interrogation. According to sources close to the investigation, Zaken even supplied documentation for that call, which was initiated by Olmert from the Prime Minister's Office. Zaken claimed she kept the documentation for years, but it is unclear yet whether this is also a recording.
On Sunday night, Olmert's former lawyer Navot Tel-Zur was also interrogated by the National Fraud Investigations Unit for several hours for alleged obstruction of justice in the Holyland affair. Tel-Zur, one of the top criminal lawyers in Israel, represented Olmert on Rishon Tours and Talansky affairs. He was later released and told not make any contact with Olmert.
Tel-Zur's name came up during Zaken's testimony that Olmert tried to influence her using his close associates. One of Zaken's claims was that in a conversation with the top lawyer, he tried to dissuade her from reaching an agreement with the prosecution by offering her financial compensation. Tel-Zur denied in his interrogation the accusation that he had tried to interfere with Zaken's testimony.
