Herzog knew of planned smear campaign against Yachimovich
More than a month after the police decided to close the case against MK Isaac Herzog, interrogation transcripts reveal he was told of intentions to run a smear campaign against his Labor rival, but contends he had no hand in it.
Labor leader Isaac Herzog knew of a planned illegal smear campaign against political rival MK Shelly Yachimovich months in advance, but maintains he had no hand in it, transcripts of his police interrogation recently made public show.
The rivalry between Herzog and Yachimovich reached its peak in 2013, when both contested for the Labor party leadership.
About a year ago the police's National Fraud Investigations Unit (NFIU) launched an investigation into the source of funding for a smear campaign directed against Yachimovich, who was at the time the leader of the Labor party. Investigators wanted to ascertain whether Herzog himself was involved.
Herzog was suspected of accepting NIS 40,000 in donations that went towards funding the smear campaign, but the NFIU eventually decided to close the case against him given the lack of substantial evidence.
On April 18, 2016, Herzog arrived at NFIU offices in Lod and was interrogated for hours by Chief Superintendent Yoram Ne'eman, who specializes in interrogating public figures.
The transcripts of his interrogation reveal the extent of the enmity between Herzog and Yachimovich at the time of the 2013 Labor party election and raise questions about the way Herzog conducted his affairs.
During his interrogation, Herzog protested his innocence, claiming "I didn’t know" and "I wasn't involved", laying the responsibility at the doorstep of his campaign manager Shimon Batat.
A few days later, he was confronted with Daniel Cohen, a lawyer active in the Labor party, who was the one actually leading the campaign against Yachimovich.
When the investigation came to an end, the police recommended to charge Shimon Batat with accepting an illegal donation and falsifying registries. In addition, the police also recommended to indict businessman Gilad Ramot, who they believe illegally donated the aforementioned funds.
Indictments have yet to be filed against the two.
The interrogation
Even before Herzog's interrogation, the NFIU took testimony from Daniel Cohen.
"We're telling you that Daniel Cohen reached an agreement with you regarding his position as the one in charge of the smear campaign," the investigator accused.
"As I've said, I'm not aware of any smear campaign… I've never agreed with Daniel Cohen about what you are describing," Herzog answered.
The interrogator than quoted Cohen's testimony: "Buji (Herzog) knew that I'm planning a smear campaign but wasn’t aware of the details. He told me that he wanted me to become involved in the campaign because there is a need for it, and Batat went over the details with me."
Herzog didn’t miss a beat, saying "my answer is clear. He, Danny Cohen, told me that he's running a smear campaign against Yachimovich. He told me that he will work to ruin Yachimovich's political career. At the time, when he talked to me, I didn’t know if there will be elections, if I was even going to contend, and in August I even requested to postpone them."
The interrogator repeated Cohen's testimony, emphasizing Cohen's statement that Herzog specifically requested him to take part in the smear campaign, to which Herzog replied, "I did not ask him to run any campaign, let alone a smear campaign… It naturally served my interest, because at the time I was frustrated and angry at Yachimovich, but I did not ask him to do it and I did not send Batat to go over the details with him…
"Bottom line: Danny Cohen ran an independent campaign that I have no connection to other than the fact that I knew, like many others, that he was out for revenge. I didn't send anyone to talk to him about it."
After that interrogation, the police decided to have Herzog confront Cohen. During their confrontation, the interrogator again read from Cohen's testimony about Herzog's involvement, asking Herzog to respond.
Herzog then said that "Danny Cohen sees different timetables then those in reality and is not accurate in his assessment. I knew about a smear campaign months before the primaries, not during primeries. He told me about this campaign, as someone who at the time had enough with Yachimovich's leadership… He is making a grave error. This whole story he concocted is an offense against me anyway."
When asked about the donation, Cohen explained that "it was done according to an agreement made with Batat. Even though Gilad Ramot gave me the money, it wasn't for legal fees. It was for the smear campaign."
Herzog then contested the statement, saying "I think Danny Cohen is presenting a theory from day one… the receipt says 'fee for professional services.' I am not under obligation to prove whether he concocted a story or not."
