Those persistent stories about Donald "Rump" Trump fanboy and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu's suspected corruption now have some legs:
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been named as a suspect in two investigations into allegations of “fraud, breach of trust and bribes” as his former chief of staff had signed a deal with prosecutors to testify against him.
The suspicions against Netanyahu, who denies any wrongdoing, were revealed in a court application by detectives on Thursday seeking a gag order on reporting details of negotiations with Ari Harow, the former chief of staff, to become a state witness.
The negotiations were concluded on Friday with Harow signing a deal in which he agreed to testify in the two cases.
The confirmation of the seriousness of the allegations comes on the day after his wife, Sara, was again interviewed by police in a separate case relating to claims for household costs in the prime minister’s residence.
While the scope of the investigations in the so-called cases 1000 and 2000 – the first about gifts from wealthy benefactors and the second over attempts to sway media coverage – have long been known, it is the first time Netanyahu has been publicly designated as a suspect. (our emphasis)Netanyahu -- whose mendacity about the Iran nuclear deal, his coddling of religious extremists, his strong affinity for Republican pols, and overall shadiness make him a perfect partner for the authoritarian Rump -- struggled to cobble together a governing coalition after the 2015 election. If this blossoming scandal, with his own former chief of staff testifying against him, brings him and his right- wing government down, good for Israel and the region.
(Image: That "bomb" may be going off in Bibi's face.)
