Just a day after arousing a storm - and calls for his own resignation - by calling for a freeze on the criminal investigations against the Prime Minister, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter now says he didn't mean it.
Minister Dichter, who oversees the police department and its criminal investigations, told the Haaretz newspaper on Monday he believes the various criminal probes against Prime Minister Olmert should be frozen.
Reactions were quick to follow. Labor MK Shelly Yechimovitch said that Dichter's words were "very grave," signalling to the police investigators that they need not zealously pursue the charges against Olmert, and her party colleague Ophir Pines-Paz agreed.
MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) said, "Dichter is fit to head the police forces in the dark regimes of banana republics. Instead of acting to ensure a complete investigation of the Prime Minister, Dichter's words are a hidden message to the police investigators that they need not hustle greatly in their investigation of Olmert."
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) said Dichter should immediately resign. "By signaling to his underlings in the police that they should apparently drag their feet and not rush to bring the criminal to justice," Eldad said, "Dichter [shows he] is simply not fit to head the country's law enforcement system."
Contradiction?
If Haaretz is to be believed, Dichter contradicted himself in the interview. The Haaretz story led with the blanket statement that Dichter said Mazuz should "freeze all criminal investigations" against Olmert - but then quoted him directly as saying he is not sure which investigations should be suspended. Asked which of the three or four current investigations against Olmert should be suspended, Dichter was quoted as saying, "I'm not familiar with the particulars of the cases, so I can't really say."
Asked if the Prime Minister should resign, Dichter said, "Olmert is the only man who knows how true the suspicions against him are. So if he feels that he's being wrongfully suspected or accused, he has no reason to step down. Nor should other officials," unless required to do so by law.
Speaking Tuesday morning with Voice of Israel Radio, Dichter backtracked and said that his proposal to exempt prime ministers from some criminal investigations was not meant to apply to Olmert. "I suggest the establishment of a public body headed by a Supreme Court justice or some other public figure," Dichter said, "that will determine which charges against a Prime Minister must be investigated, and which must be pushed off until the end of his term in office."
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has ordered criminal investigations against Olmert in two cases, known as the Bank Leumi affair and the Cremeiux St. apartment case. The former, which began several months ago, involves allegations that Olmert, when serving as Trade Minister, intervened on behalf of two of his friends who were interested in buying Bank Leumi, which was then undergoing privatization. The second case, considered a much more severe one, involves a possible bribe of between $330,000 and nearly $500,000 that Olmert allegedly received in the form of a discount on the purchase of an apartment. In return, it is suspected, Olmert - who had served as Mayor of Jerusalem - arranged for the relaxation of zoning regulations to benefit the builder. This investigation is expected to start in earnest next week, after the Sukkot holiday.
Attorney General Mazuz is also considering two other sets of charges against the Prime Minister, and is expected to issue a decision soon as to whether to order police investigations in these cases.
Olmert Stalls Investigators
Investigative journalist Yoav Yitzchak reports that an important part of why the investigations are taking so long is the behavior of Olmert himself. In the Bank Leumi case, Olmert cancelled scheduled police questioning sessions no fewer than four times, causing major delays each time. Most recently, Olmert was scheduled to be questioned - in his home - on July 17, but the Prime Minister said he could not make time for it. A new date was then set for two weeks ago, but this was pushed off as well when Olmert cited "diplomatic and security events." No new date has been set as yet.
Regarding the Cremeiux St. apartment as well, Olmert has repeatedly pushed off officials of the State Comptroller's Office, Yitzchak reports. When he was finally questioned by former police investigator Yaakov Borovsky several months ago, he requested that his testimony not be taped, explaining that his aides would tape it and send copies to the Comptroller. However, several days later, Olmert's aides informed the Comptroller, "We're sorry, the recording did not work."
Officials in the police department, State Prosecution and Knesset say that if Olmert continues to push off police investigators, there will be no choice but to force him by law to appear for the police questioning.
New Proposal: PM Under Probe Must Step Down
Meanwhile, MKs Zevulun Orlev (NRP) and Avigdor Yitzchaki (Kadima) are proposing new legislation requiring a Prime Minister under criminal investigation to immediately step down from office until after the investigation is completed. "In no other normal country does a Prime Minister continue to serve under such a pack of criminal investigations," Orlev says.