Yesh Atid leader MK Yair Lapid would periodically meet with Yediot Aharonot publisher Noni Mozes while Lapid served as Finance Minister, Channel 10 reports.
Mozes, a central figure in the 'Case 2000' probe involving Prime Minister Netanyahu, owns the Yediot Aharonot newspaper and is seen by many as one of Israel's most powerful people.
The frequent meetings were held on Friday mornings at the home of a businessman from the affluent city of Savyon.
While Lapid listed the meetings he had with journalists in his publicly disclosed daily planner, his sessions with Mozes remained off the record.
Yesh Atid said in response that Lapid's meetings with Mozes were simply one of many the former finance minister held with leading public figures.
"In the course of his tenure, Yair Lapid met with editors and publishers of the major media outlets in Israel, including Noni Mozes, Sheldon and Miri Adelson, Ron Lauder, Eli Azur and others, as do all the senior politicians in Israel," said Yesh Atid in a statement.
Mozes has featured prominently in an influence-peddling scheme together with Prime Minister Netanyahu. In the investigation known as 'Case 2000”, police probed allegations that Netanyahu conspired with Mozes as the publisher of the Yediot Aharonot newspaper against Israel Hayom – a competing Hebrew daily distributed for free in Israel.
The case centers around claims that Netanyahu agreed to pass legislation, dubbed the “Israel Hayom Law”, banning the free distribution of newspapers, in exchange for promises from Mozes that his paper would tone down its criticism of the premier.