If there are no last-minute surprises, the next few days will see an end to all the spin. The curtain will rise, and Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit will be at center stage. He will tell the public about his decisions in the cases involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite his careless conduct in the past few weeks, which included an interview to Hadashot News and leaks, it would be unfair to fault his judgment. We need to give Mendelblit and his team credit for making the correct considerations and doing their work faithfully. If, in the end, recordings, documents, or other incriminating evidence are presented to the public, they will garner widespread public support. But if no significant details are uncovered, the prime minister will retain his popularity, and the public will rule at the ballot box first, and only later will a court (pending a hearing) make its ruling.
The reports about the fateful decision are mostly focusing on the attorney general's remarks, especially in Case 4,000, and far-reaching implications of indicting a sitting prime minister. Under the surface, equally heavy decisions need to be made that have to do with the possibility of putting Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon "Noni" Mozes on trial.
Whether Mendelblit decides to file an indictment on charges of bribery in which Mozes will be a main defendant, or whether he opts for a count of breach of trust – in which case Netanyahu would be the only defendant – the prosecution will need to put Mozes on the witness stand, which could turn the trial into a circus the likes of which the country has never seen.
The volatility that surrounds Mozes, a person who has never spoken publicly, can be seen in how law enforcement has handled him gently throughout the investigations process. Unlike the leaks from the Lahav 433 Major Crimes Unit, the investigation into Mozes was kept totally under wraps and almost nothing is known about it. While most suspects have been offered a state's witness deal, it appears that no one has even tried that in Mozes' case.
One does not need to be a prophet to envision the drama that the prime minister's lawyers will create out of a counter-investigation against Mozes. It is already clear that one aspect of Netanyahu's defense will focus on selective enforcement and supportive coverage being made into bribery.
Senior politicians, wealthy businesspeople, and top legal scholars are up at night in a cold sweat by the possibility that the shady ties and alliances they made with the Yedioth Ahronoth group in exchange for positive reports will come to light. We can only imagine what will happen when Mozes is forced to answer questions about the anti-Israel Hayom bill and his ties to politicians and government ministers, who worked fervently to get the bill passed; or what the public will discover when he explains his secret meetings with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid. His testimony could cause an earthquake.
Will Mendelbit have the guts to opt for such a potentially volatile legal move? We'll soon find out. If he does, the announcement of an indictment pending a hearing might merely be a warmup.
