April 13, 2011 Lieberman to Be Indicted

The slow wheels of Israeli justice finally turned today, slightly. Two years after the police recommended he be indicted, and five years after the investigation began, Israel's Attorney General stated he will indict Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman will be charged with money laundering, abuse of public trust, and other charges. The charge of bribery is not be leveled. Of course, in Israel's strange system there is now a period of Shemou. During this time a public official gets to review the charges against him/her and refute only the are actual charges leveled against them. There have not, to the best of my knowledge, been any cases where the charges were actually dropped.

The next stage may take another 6 months, during which time Lieberman will continue to be Foreign Minister, unless the Supreme Court steps in. I would not want to prejudge the case, but my rather simplistic way of looking at any potential case of public corruption is to ask the question: How did the person involved earn the money or material possessions he or she has. If there is no legal answer, then you have your answer.

Egyptian democracy took a turn for the worse today, when former President Mubarak and his sons and others close to him were arrested. Mubarak is currently in the hospital, his sons are in jail. The cry in the street is to hang them all. I would not want to be in their position. I doubt anyone is going to worry about rules of evidence law or anything similar, where Mubarak and his family are concerned.