President Donald Trump renewed his call to secure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a pardon, with Israeli President Isaac Herzog quickly denying Trump’s claim that a pardon was already “on its way.”
Standing side-by-side with Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump told reporters that the prime minister is a “hero” who deserves a pardon from corruption charges that he is currently fighting in an ongoing trial:
“Oh, I think he will,” he said when asked if Herzog would grant Netanyahu’s request. “How do you not? He’s a wartime prime minister who’s a hero. How do you not give a pardon? I think it’s a very hard thing not to do.”
“I spoke to the president; he tells me it’s on its way,” Trump added. “You can’t do better than that, right?”
However, the New York Times reported that Herzog’s office “quickly denied that any decision had been made and said a decision was weeks away, at a minimum.”
When Reuters asked about Trump’s remarks, Herzog’s office said the Israeli president had not communicated with his American counterpart since he put in an official pardon request on Netanyahu’s behalf in mid-November.
In his letter to Herzog, Trump called Netanyahu’s trial, stemming from a 2019 indictment, a “political, unjustified prosecution.”
Addressing the Israeli president personally, Trump wrote, “Isaac, we have established a great relationship, one that I am very thankful for and honored by, and we agreed as soon as I was inaugurated in January that the focus had to be centered on finally bringing the hostages home and getting the peace agreement done.”
“Now that we have achieved these unprecedented successes, and are keeping Hamas in check, it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all,” Trump concluded. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Upon receipt of the letter, Herzog’s office stated that while he “holds President Trump in the highest regard” and appreciates his “unwavering support for Israel,” any pardon request must follow established procedures.
As Breitbart News’s Joshua Klein explained, such requests must be submitted formally by the individual or an immediate family member, typically after legal proceedings conclude.
In Netanyahu’s own request, submitted on November 30, he reportedly argued that frequent court hearings have impaired his ability to govern at such a tumultuous time in his country’s history.
The prime minister is the first in Israeli history to stand trial while in office after being charged with fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes in three different cases.
More on the accusations, which Netanyahu has denied, are detailed by Breitbart News here.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
