Any delivery of cigars or champagne to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was inconsequential compared to the amount that Hollywood producer billionaire, former friend, and state’s witness Arnon Milchan had, the prime minister said at his criminal trial testimony hearing on Monday.
The defense is close to the finish line on testimonies for Case 1000, the “Illegal Gifts” affair, after which testimonies on Case 2000 will begin. Cross-examination by the prosecution will follow. In Case 1000, Netanyahu is on trial for allegedly pushing to advance legislation favorable to Milchan, while receiving thousands of shekels worth of cigars and champagne.
Netanyahu, per the indictment, allegedly directed Shlomo Filber, who was the director-general of the Communications Ministry in 2015 – and later became a state’s witness – to help Milchan with regulatory concerns. This was related to a merger deal between media companies Reshet and Keshet, in which Milchan was considering investing.
Netanyahu said last week that the interrogations into Milchan by police in December 2016 are what terminated their relationship. He insisted on Monday that he had nothing to do with the connection between the two or any communication surrounding it. “I had no way to influence it,” he said.
The indictment alleges that Netanyahu appointed Filber to the Communications Ministry rather suddenly and then instructed him to examine how Milchan could be helped; Milchan and Filber allegedly spoke after this. The indictment stipulates that Netanyahu did this to be able to exert more control over the Israeli journalism sphere.
“What interested me at the time was introducing range into the Israeli journalism sphere. We saw this yesterday [with coverage of the affidavit against Shin Bet Ronen Bar]. It is a monolith that hides things from people and serves as a massive danger to democracy. When you provide one narrative [only], that’s dangerous,” he said.
Netanyahu's affidavit covered in Israeli media
Channels 11, 12, and 13, the main broadcast channels in Israel television, all aired coverage of Netanyahu’s affidavit yesterday throughout the afternoon and evening.
Lead defense attorney Amit Hadad asked Netanyahu to address the claim that he wanted Milchan to purchase an Israeli news group in order to control it.
Netanyahu said he didn’t have a particular interest in it, but that the matter as a whole bothered him. “Personnel is policy,” he said in English.
Any insinuation that Netanyahu played a role in Milchan’s investment interests is “absurd,” he said, adding, “This is crazy,” in English.
“I took two meetings with him, like I would with anyone else,” he added.
Per the indictment, Netanyahu allegedly received NIS 267,254 (about $75,000) in cigars, and NIS 184,448 (about $52,000) worth of champagne from 2011 to 2016.
Hadad asked Netanyahu what his smoking habits were – to corroborate the numbers. Netanyahu said the prosecution’s charge that he smoked five-to-six cigars a day was “crazy.”
“I smoke one cigar over the course of two days... I have no time otherwise,” he explained.
Hadad pointed to transcripts in which Netanyahu told interrogators that he instructed his team to purchase the cigars, but that it always came from his own pocket, undercutting the indictment to show that this was a regular thing, a private purchase. “There was no supply line” of cigars and champagne, he insisted.
He said that when Milchan would visit two to four times a year, he would bring a box of cigars, open it up, and say, ‘Take, Bibi, take one.’”
When Netanyahu was questioned by police, the interrogators asked how the sheer amount of money didn’t cross his mind.
Netanyahu said on Monday that the line of questioning by the cops was like “asking how many cups of coffee you drink in your life, or how long your nails get... They [the prosecution] have nothing.”
Netanyahu also said he was never given receipts for the purchases – meaning, they were that insignificant. Hadad also presented transcripts where the interrogators told Netanyahu that they had receipts, but wouldn’t share them.
“That’s convenient, isn’t it?” said the prime minister, adding, “When you’re trying to incriminate an innocent man, facts don’t matter.”
“You blew up the numbers [of money spent on cigars]! What are we sitting here for – bribery for basic press releases, and fraud and breach-of-trust for cigars? This is what we are wasting precious time for, stealing time from both the State and the judges!” charged the prime minister.
“Milchan had cigars in his basement for everyone – guests of his even said so – not just for me... When you’re framing someone, you need to know what you’re doing,” he said.
Hadad later presented a video of an award Milchan got in 2008, during which he was presented with a cigar, “for your extensive contribution to the cigar industry.” Asked how this fits with Milchan’s personality, Netanyahu said it fit like a glove. “This is what he does. To come and say that what he has in his various homes is all designated for me is ridiculous and so removed from reality. How can this be believed, let alone the basis for a charge? It’s ridiculous.”
When it came to the champagne, Netanyahu said Arnon “swam in champagne,” and that Sara, his wife, got a tiny bit of it as a gift.
The indictment lists 160 boxes of champagne. “That is not even close to what I saw; I recall one box, and it was opened,” said Netanyahu.
Tensions ran high during the hearing, with ugly barbs exchanged between Likud activists, bereaved and hostage families, and some journalists.