Olmert to petition High Court against Talansky deposition
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's attorneys to challenge decision allowing officials to take deposition of fundraiser Morris Talansky
Olmert's attorneys believe that allowing Talansky to testify at this stage would undermine the possibility of holding a fair investigation into suspicions that the prime minister received funds unlawfully.
The attorneys are expected to prepare the petition at the beginning of the week, but the date for submitting it is unknown at this time. For the time being, Olmert has not been asked to submit for another police interrogation session over the affair.
Olmert defense team's decision comes after the Jerusalem District Court granted Friday Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's request to take a deposition from Talansky, an American businessman believed to have transferred funds to Olmert during the latter's tenure as Jerusalem mayor and as industry, trade and labor minister.
State Prosecutor Moshe Lador told the court that Talansky "has expressed his concern to a police officer that Olmert might send someone to hurt him."
The court noted that "while the state prosecutor stressed that it is inconceivable to attribute to any of the respondents the intent to influence the witness or deter him from testifying, given the subjective feeling of the witness, there's a concern that this might dissuade him from testifying."
Roni Sofer contributed to the report
