President Isaac Herzog’s office said on Sunday that it had requested “additional supplementary materials” from the Justice Ministry regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon in his corruption trial.

Herzog is under intense pressure from coalition members and from US President Donald Trump to pardon Netanyahu, whose trial is ongoing.

The president’s legal adviser, Michal Tzuk, requested materials “regarding precedents in the exercise of the pardon authority prior to the conclusion of criminal proceedings, including in cases involving diplomatic gestures or hostage-release deals.”

The Justice Ministry’s Pardons Department filed a legal position paper on Netanyahu’s pardon request earlier this month, determining that pardoning him would be highly problematic and unprecedented, given that the premier’s trial is ongoing, and given that Netanyahu did not admit guilt or express remorse in his November request, citing only the need to end the trial for the good of the nation.

Netanyahu is standing trial on one charge of bribery, as well as three charges of fraud and breach of trust, after being indicted in 2020.

The department added that the request relies heavily on public interest arguments related to diplomacy and security, which it said it was not equipped to assess, while warning that granting such a pardon could harm the principle of equality before the law.

Tzuk noted that despite the clear differences........

© The Times of Israel