Show an ad over header. AMP  

Netanyahu tries to delay corruption hearings until after Israel's election

10 February 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Netanyahu and his allies are publicly pressuring the judges in his corruption trial to postpone the presentation of evidence and witnesses until after Israel's elections on March 23.

What he's saying: “Everybody knows the cases against me are rigged," Netanyahu claimed on Monday. "This is why I don’t think the hearing of witnesses in my trial should begin before the elections because even if it is not the intention, it would look like a flagrant interference in the elections."

Between the lines: The presentation of evidence against Netanyahu in the lead-up to the trial would be a gift to his opponents, and put him in a difficult position.

  • It's in Netanyahu's legal interest to sit in the courtroom and look witnesses in the eyes as they testify against him, but it's in his political interest to stay out of court in order to show that he's focusing on affairs of state.
  • Netanyahu’s political opponents contend that he brought down the government and forced the election because of his legal situation — proof he can’t differentiate between the national interest and his legal troubles.
  • Netanyahu hopes that if he wins the elections, the right-wing bloc will vote to give him immunity from the charges.

Driving the news: In the court session on Monday in which Netanyahu pleaded not guilty, his lawyers asked that the testimony phase be postponed for another three to four months. They cited procedural reasons and didn’t mention the elections.

  • But several hours after Netanyahu left the courtroom, he denounced the charges against him and argued for a postponement until after the elections. In a scene that looked like it was taken from the Trump White House during impeachment, he did so while standing next to the visiting Greek prime minister.
  • After his brief court appearance, Netanyahu's press team did its best to signal business as usual, issuing statements and releasing photos of the prime minister in meetings and briefings on COVID-19.
  • Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s campaign was instructing all government ministers and MPs from his Likud party to publicly call for a postponement.

What’s next: The judges are expected to rule in the coming days on the dates of the hearings, which are expected to take place three days a week and last several hours.

  • The judges noted on Monday that the trial had already been postponed several times due to COVID-19 restrictions. Nevertheless, another postponement until after the elections is likely.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.