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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| AG: Olmert obstructing graft probes against him |
| 2008-07-25 |
| Attorney General Menachem Mazuz criticized the prime minister on Thursday saying that Ehud Olmert was deliberately obstructing the corruption investigation currently underway against him. In response to a petition submitted by journalist Yoav Yitzhak asking the High Court of Justice to declare Olmert incapacitated and remove him from office, Mazuz said "the police have faced serious difficulties in setting dates for questioning of the prime minister, as well as in determining the length of the questioning." "These are difficulties that the police have not faced while investigating any other public figure, including previous prime ministers," Mazuz went on to say. Yitzhak petitioned the High Court of Justice asking the court to declare the prime minister incapacitated for a pre-determined period of time, during which he would be questioned every day in regard to all six open investigations against him. Yitzhak also asked that Olmert be compelled to comply with short notice summons for questioning should the investigation require it. In a response to the High Court, Mazuz said that "the investigations against Omlert in various affairs are well underway, in advanced stages, but not yet complete. In any case, decisions have yet to be made, and it is not yet clear whether the evidence gathered will be sufficient to support an indictment in any of the cases, and which charges they will include." "In light of the public sensitivity of the matter, we will do the utmost in our power to expedite the investigation process," Mazuz added. In regard to the petition calling for Olmert to be declared incapacitated, the attorney general reiterated his previous assertion that Olmert's continued service as prime minister is not a legal issue, but rather a political one. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Tik-tok, tik-tok |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-07-25 03:08 |