Donald Trump has weighed in on ally Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial, saying in a social media post that the trial was a “witch hunt” and should be cancelled.
“Bibi and I just went through HELL together, fighting a very tough and brilliant longtime enemy ofIsrael, Iran, and Bibi could not have been better, sharper, or stronger in his LOVE for the incredible Holy Land,” Trump said on Wednesday night, using a nickname for the Israeli leader.
The US president, who himself has faced anarray of criminal charges and convictionsthat he argued were politically motivated, said he had “just learned that Bibi has been summoned to court on Monday” and also suggested a pardon for the “great hero”.
“It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu,” Trump said.
In December, Netanyahu became the first Israeli prime minister to take the stand as the defendant in a criminal trial for corruption. He assailed the charges against him as an“ocean of absurdity”.
He was charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases. The 75-year-old is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of cigars and champagne from a billionaire Hollywood producer in exchange for assisting him with personal and business interests, and of promoting advantageous regulation for media moguls in exchange for favourable coverage of himself and his family.
He denies wrongdoing, saying the charges are a witch-hunt orchestrated by a hostile media and a biased legal system out to topple his lengthy rule.
Netanyahu’s trial has been delayed many times since it began in May 2020, with the prime minister requesting postponements due to the war in Gaza and later conflict in Lebanon. It was unclear when the next hearing would be scheduled for.