Ex-AG Mandelblit Admitted Investigation Lacked 'Meat,' Defense Claims

During the fifth day of testimony in the Jerusalem District Court, defense attorney Amit Haddad presented a classified 2016 protocol where former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit allegedly admitted the investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lacked the substantial evidence initially sought. Haddad argued that the police deviated significantly from the original investigative goals, focusing on minor gifts like cigars and champagne instead of the "big iceberg" of corruption Mandelblit had authorized them to seek.

Mandelblit reportedly acknowledged in the protocol that he had "identified indications of a large bank from the recordings" but claimed he did not recall the specifics. The defense highlighted Mandelblit's statement in the protocol expressing surprise that peripheral issues had become central, stating, "By the way, iceberg, and now I see an appendix that became the main thing." Haddad presented further protocol entries where Mandelblit allegedly wrote, "There is no meat here that I was looking for. At this stage, with all due respect to cigars, champagne, a suit, this is not the industry we suspect might be there."

The defense contended that the legal establishment's expectations of uncovering significant suspicions were vastly different from the minor details investigators pursued. Mandelblit confirmed that the protocol stated he "identified indications of a large bank from the recordings" but could not recall which recordings or what they contained when pressed by Haddad. The defense also pointed to Mandelblit's instruction to exhaust information from associates like Ari Harow before further decisions, suggesting a desire for controlled oversight that was bypassed by the police.

Haddad's presentation aimed to demonstrate a disconnect between Mandelblit's initial authorization to search for major financial misconduct and the actual focus of the investigation on gifts, which became a central part of the indictment in Case 1000. The defense argued that the protocol from 2016 is crucial to their claim that the police conducted a disconnected investigation, deviating from the original objectives and limited approvals granted from above. Mandelblit's alleged admission that the cigar and champagne issue became the "main thing" and that the "meat" he sought was absent, according to the defense, bolsters their argument of a "witch hunt" detached from the initial goals.