President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that the State of Israel should drop corruption charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, especially given his role in leading Israel in the recent war.
Netanyahu faces charges relating to petty corruption — such as receiving cigars from a friend — that supporters say are politically motivated. The cases are weak enough that even the judges suggested that prosecutors should drop at least one of the charges.
Nevertheless, the trial has proceeded, with Netanyahu forced to testify even during wartime, as his critics say the trial proves that no one is above the law in Israel.
Trump — who had excoriated the Israeli government on Tuesday for allegedly violating the ceasefire with Iran (after Iran violated it first) — appeared to offer an olive branch to Netanyahu, citing their shared leadership.
In a post on Truth Social, the president said:
BREAKING NEWS…I was shocked to hear that the State of Israel, which has just had one of its Greatest Moments in History, and is strongly led by Bibi Netanyahu, is continuing its ridiculous Witch Hunt against their Great War Time Prime Minister! Bibi and I just went through HELL together, fighting a very tough and brilliant longtime enemy of Israel, Iran, and Bibi could not have been better, sharper, or stronger in his LOVE for the incredible Holy Land. Anybody else would have suffered losses, embarrassment, and chaos! Bibi Netanyahu was a WARRIOR, like perhaps no other Warrior in the History of Israel, and the result was something that nobody thought was possible, a complete elimination of potentially one of the biggest and most powerful Nuclear Weapons anywhere in the World, and it was going to happen, SOON! We were fighting, literally, for the Survival of Israel, and there is nobody in Israel’s History that fought harder or more competently than Bibi Netanyahu. Despite all of this, I just learned that Bibi has been summoned to Court on Monday for the continuation of this long running, (He has been going through this “Horror Show” since May of 2020 – Unheard of! This is the first time a sitting Israeli Prime Minister has ever been on trial.), politically motivated case, “concerning cigars, a Bugs Bunny doll, and numerous other unfair charges” in order to do him great harm. Such a WITCH HUNT, for a man who has given so much, is unthinkable to me. He deserves much better than this, and so does the State of Israel. Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State. Perhaps there is no one that I know who could have worked in better harmony with the President of the United States, ME, than Bibi Netanyahu. It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu. THIS TRAVESTY OF “JUSTICE” CAN NOT BE ALLOWED!
The Times of Israel, which is generally critical of Netanyahu, grumbled that Trump had made an “unprecedented intervention in [the] Israeli justice system.”
Trump, too, has faced legal persecution, including both civil and criminal cases that analysts say are generally weak, and that supporters have long maintained are politically motivated. The federal cases against Trump were dropped when he took office.
