By Xinhua,
Jerusalem : Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s lawyers on Thursday began cross-questioning a key witness in the ongoing “money envelopes” investigation that might unseat the embattled leader.
The questioning session is expected to last five days, when lawyers of the probes-laden Olmert will put American Jewish businessman Moshe Talansky on the grill.
Talansky previously testified that he gave Olmert some 150,000 U.S. dollars, much of it in envelopes, as campaign contributions before the latter became prime minister in 2006.
The fund-raiser speculated in the late May pre-trial deposition that some of the money was spent funding Olmert’s lavish lifestyle, such as foreign travels, luxury hotels and fine cigars, while Olmert’s lawyers said earlier this week that their cross-examination will prove such allegations are false.
“It will allow me to tell everything I know, but in my case I want to tell you, don’t expect any big drama,” Talansky said Tuesday, downplaying the significance of the upcoming cross-examination.
The defending team plans to screen parts of Talansky’s police interrogation which show that he repeatedly changed his versions of the same events, local daily Ha’aretz reported, adding that the lawyers will argue that the police and prosecution tailor-made Talansky’s story.
The prime minister, who has admitted receiving funds from Talansky, denies any wrongdoing in the fifth investigation againsthim and insisted the cross-examination will help set the record straight. He has also said that he will resign if indicted.
The “money envelopes” scandal poses a serious challenge to Olmert’s credibility as the leader both of the nation and the ruling Kadima party, and has prompted him and his party to agree to hold primaries in September, which would lead to the end of his premiership.
Meanwhile, a new probe has been launched into suspicions that Olmert asked different public organizations to pay for the same trips abroad and spent the money on family holidays when he was Jerusalem mayor and trade minister, a fraud allegation that Olmert denies.