Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's defense team has reached an agreement with Attorney General Menachem Mazuz postponing Olmert's next questioning until April. Olmert will be questioned on April 19 and 27 regarding the Rishon Tours affair.
The questioning was originally scheduled for March 22, but Olmert's attorneys requested a delay, saying they needed more time to peruse the large quantities of material provided by investigators. They asked to hold the hearing in May, well after Olmert expects to have left the government.
Attorneys also mentioned the Cast Lead operation in Gaza as a reason to postpone the hearing, arguing that Olmert was busy last month due to the fighting and had been unable to deal with the criminal files facing him.
The Rishon Tours case involves suspicions of double billing that allegedly allowed members of Olmert's family to join him for free when he traveled abroad on government business. The April hearings will be Olmert's last chance to dissuade Mazuz from seeking an indictment.
Olmert's former office manager, Shula Zaken, is scheduled to be questioned as well.
Olmert remains under investigation in connection with other allegations as well. On Friday, he was questioned for more than three hours regarding claims that he promoted his associates' interests while serving as Minister of Trade and Labor. He was questioned one week earlier regarding the same affair.
State prosecutors are also considering an indictment in the “Cash Envelopes” affair, in which Olmert is accused of illegally accepting envelopes full of cash from American businessman Morris (Moshe) Talansky. Talansky, the central witness in the ongoing investigation, is weighing his legal options and is expected to meet soon with Jerusalem District Attorney Eli Abarbanel.