State prosecutors will not release any more material on their investigation into the case involving Ehud Olmert and American businessman Moshe (Morris) Talansky to the Prime Minister's lawyers, said a Sunday Ynet report. According to the report, the State Prosecutor’s Office submitted their decision to the Jerusalem District Court, citing possible damage to the investigation if the information were revealed.
"While divulging any further material at this stage will not assist the (PM's legal team) in their future cross-examination of Mr. Talansky, it may cause serious harm to the ongoing search of the truth in this case," State Prosecutor Moshe Lador wrote in the State’s rebuttal to a motion filed by Olmert’s team.
The original motion from Prime Minister Olmert's attorneys asked the court to order the State to give them all new material gathered in the case against the prime minister. The petition claimed that its request was in the “interest of full disclosure”.
Attorneys Eli Zohar, Roee Belchar and Micha Pettman, representing Olmert and his former bureau chief Shula Zaken, wrote to the court last week, complaining that the State had notified them that it has no intention of divulging any new material gathered by the police in the case. The restriction included all depositions collected from witnesses in the US.
Sunday’s rebuttal by the State defended the Prosecutor’s Office ban. "We respectfully ask the court to either deny the motion or set a hearing in the matter," wrote Lador.
The State Prosecutor argued that "handing over any of the new investigative material may seriously hinder the investigation," since the prime minister is currently under investigation on allegations of fraud, tax evasion and receipt of fraudulent benefits, among a number of other offences.
The State also sent a letter to the PM's legal team elaborating on the State's position on the matter, adding that the State "will refrain from divulging said material at this point, in order to protect the integrity of the investigation.” The letter, penned by Jerusalem District Prosecutor Eli Abarbanel, continued, “We hope we would be able to give it to you in the foreseeable future."