Israeli prosecutors announced an expansion of their corruption investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday, saying they suspected he fraudulently billed multiple state agencies for the same flights when he was mayor and trade minister and used the extra money for personal trips and vacations.In a statement issued after questioning Mr. Olmert for two hours, the police and the Justice Ministry said that the travel agency he used colluded in the alleged scheme by sending copies of the same bill to numerous public bodies and booking Olmert family vacations with the profits.
A Justice Ministry spokesman added that the state agencies involved in the double billing included those focused on helping soldiers, mentally disabled children, the disabled and the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem. He said Mr. Olmert would speak on their behalf during his trips and then ask them to pay for the fare.
Next week, Mr. Olmert's lawyers will cross-examine a Long Island businessman who told prosecutors in public testimony in May that he had delivered about $150,000 in cash to Mr. Olmert in envelopes over a number of years before Mr. Olmert became prime minister.
The businessman, Morris Talansky, said he never asked anything of Mr. Olmert in exchange, but the police have several letters of introduction from Mr. Olmert for Mr. Talansky to businessmen and officials of other governments that they believe amounted to a quid pro quo.
Judicial authorities said that between Mr. Talansky's envelopes and the travel agency's multiple billings, Mr. Olmert had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in about 15 years. He served as mayor for a decade until 2003, and then as a government minister until succeeding Ariel Sharon in early 2006.
After Friday's questioning, Mr. Olmert's office issued a statement that "the earth did not shake and the sky did not fall," meaning that despite predictions leaked to the press in advance of the questioning suggesting that it would be the end of his political career, little of substance has changed. The statement said the questioning was standard and referred to business Mr. Olmert had conducted abroad while mayor and trade minister."Prime Minister Olmert is convinced he is innocent of any wrongdoing and firmly believes that as this investigation continues, that innocence will become apparent to all," his spokesman Mark Regev said. Mr. Olmert has promised to step down if indicted.
There have been increasingly harsh leaks from the police to the Israeli media with growing predictions that the prime minister will be forced out at any moment. For example, in a front-page analysis in Haaretz newspaper on Friday, the journalist Amir Oren predicted that after the police questioning, Mr. Olmert "will cease serving as prime minister." He added, "Olmert will not be able to recover from this interrogation."
And while Mr. Olmert is a veteran political survivor, there are signs that he may not be able to hold on as leader of the government much longer. Leaders of his Kadima Party say they have reached a deal to hold a primary in September and that the winner will immediately begin putting together a new government. Mr. Olmert would not step down until a majority coalition had been formed.
If the agreement holds, it means that Mr. Olmert has lost his internal battle to prevent the formation of a new government while he is prime minister. It is not yet clear whether Mr. Olmert will run again to lead the party in the primaries. Some of his colleagues have asserted that he has promised not to.
But the investigations and party battles have clearly taken a toll on his public standing, and even if he chooses to run he seems unlikely to prevail. A poll in the Yediot Aharonot newspaper published on Friday shows 79 percent of Kadima members wanting him to quit.
In addition, Mr. Olmert's top two lieutenants, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, have publicly urged him to step down. Ms. Livni leads in polls among Kadima members to take over Mr. Olmert's leadership of the party. Mr. Barak leads the Labor Party, which is in a coalition with Kadima.
Mr. Olmert faces this possible political demise at a time of extraordinary geopolitical challenge for Israel. The government is simultaneously negotiating with two Palestinian factions, as well as Syria. It is also grappling with what to do about Iran's nuclear ambitions, given Iran's stated wish for Israel to be forced out of existence.