The State Prosecutor's Office has responded to the appeal to the High Court of Justice by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's attorneys to block preliminary testimony by American businessman Morris (Moshe) Talansky.
Talansky is scheduled to give a deposition on May 25 as a suspect witness in at least one of the bribery investigations against the Prime Minister. The Jerusalem District Court had decided earlier to allow the testimony due to concern that Talansky would not be available to testify at a later date if needed.
Olmert's attorneys had argued that Talansky's testimony would impede the Prime Minister's right to due process.