NOT BUDGING

Netanyahu Returns to Court to Plead Not Guilty to Four Corruption Charges

The first sitting Israeli prime minister to appear in court as a defendant is charged on one count of bribery and three charges of fraud and breach of trust.

Benjamin Netanyahu returned to court Monday to plead not guilty to all of the four corruption charges against him. Netanyahu, the first sitting Israeli prime minister to appear in court as a defendant, is charged on one count of bribery and three charges of fraud and breach of trust. He entered the court Monday morning to confirm his written pleas of not guilty to all of the charges, telling judges: “I confirm the written answer submitted in my name.” Monday’s session will discuss the crucial issue of the trial’s timetable—it’s only six weeks until Israel votes in a general election, and Netanyahu’s allies have urged authorities to postpone the trial until after that day. According to CNN, parliamentary Speaker Yariv Levin said that allowing the trial to run through the campaign period would be a “gross interference in the election process by the judiciary.” If Netanyahu is convicted, and that conviction is upheld after an appeals process, he would be forced to resign from his office.