Overview
- At Mar-a-Lago, Trump called Netanyahu a 'wartime' hero who deserves clemency and has urged Herzog in a letter to grant a pardon.
- Trump asserted that Herzog told him a pardon is on the way, a claim the Israeli president’s office publicly rejected.
- Herzog’s office told Reuters there has been no communication with Trump since mid-November and that any decision remains weeks away.
- Netanyahu submitted a formal pardon request on November 30, arguing frequent court hearings are impairing his ability to govern.
- The bid for pre-conviction clemency is unusual in Israel, where pardons are typically considered after proceedings, as Netanyahu’s bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust trial continues.