Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Monday evening with U.S. President Donald Trump, who offered to help advance Netanyahu’s newly submitted request for a presidential pardon in his ongoing corruption trial, according to a source close to the prime minister.
The source said Trump told Netanyahu he believed the Israeli leader “should have had his trial stopped and been pardoned long ago,” a position the U.S. president has expressed repeatedly since returning to the White House this year.
Trump has been outspoken about the case, which involves charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery. In June, he publicly called for the trial to be scrapped, describing it as a “horror show.” In a pointed post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the proceedings were concerning "cigars, a Bugs Bunny doll, and numerous other unfair charges,” calling them a “ridiculous Witch Hunt against their Great War Time Prime Minister.” He added, “It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu.”
Days later, Trump again criticized the prosecution, writing that the legal proceedings against Netanyahu would “interfere with both Iran and Hamas negotiations.” He said Netanyahu was being targeted by “out-of-control prosecutors,” and described him as a “war hero” and a prime minister who worked “to get rid of the dangerous nuclear threat in Iran.”
In recent months, Trump has raised the subject repeatedly. During an address to the Knesset in October, he turned to President Isaac Herzog and publicly asked why he would not grant Netanyahu a pardon — a remark that visibly surprised Herzog. “That wasn't in the speech, as you probably know, but I happen to like this gentleman right over here,” Trump told lawmakers. “It just seems to make so much sense. You know whether we like it or not, this has been one of the greatest wartime [leaders]. And cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that?”
Trump later told reporters the intervention had not been planned and that he spoke up only because Netanyahu received strong applause. He has since sent Herzog a formal letter urging him to grant the pardon, calling the case “political and unjustified” and saying Netanyahu should be allowed to “unite Israel” by ending what he termed “lawfare.”
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office
(Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP)
Netanyahu submitted the formal pardon request to Herzog on Sunday, a move that has triggered intense political and legal debate inside Israel.
Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman went even further, invoking Trump directly when she said Monday on i24News that “if President Herzog does not act for the security of Israel and the Israeli people, for healing and unity, I believe President Trump may take additional steps and be forced to intervene — steps that could include imposing various sanctions on senior officials in the judicial system.”
In response, Herzog was pressed to address the mounting pressure inside Likud following the submission of Netanyahu’s formal pardon request. “The issue of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon is clearly provoking debate and is deeply unsettling for many people in the country, across different communities,” he said. "I have already clarified that it will be handled in the most correct and precise manner. I will consider solely the best interests of the State of Israel and Israeli society."