Police raid office in Olmert investigation

ALEX KOLOMOISKY/AFP/Getty Images Images

Today, Israeli police raided the offices of the Jerusalem municipality looking for evidence of bribes given to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert by New York businessman Morris Talansky.

With Israel’s media gag order lifted, more details are starting to come out about the investigation. It now appears that the investigators are looking into money Olmert received while he was a minister in Ariel Sharon’s government, not when he was running for mayor of Jerusalem as previously reported:

“At present, the investigation is clearly focusing on the period when Olmert served as the minister of industry, trade and labor,” the official said, adding that investigators may yet expand their probe to cover the period during which Talansky raised funds for Olmert’s various election campaigns. “The investigators have solid information regarding envelopes of cash that were handed over to Olmert, and there is no information regarding the fate of that money.”

In an interview on Israeli television, Talansky denied bribing Olmert and said that he had donated to Olmert’s campaigns but had no idea how the money was spent. However, according to the New York Times, a minibar company started by Talansky picked up a $4,717 one-night Washington hotel tab for Olmert in 2005. Even at the Ritz-Carton, that’s a lot of cashews.

Meanwhile, George W. Bush will arrive in Israel tomorrow and plans to meet with Olmert. Asked about the investigation today, he described the Israeli prime minister as “an honest man, an open man, a guy easy to talk to and somebody who understands the vision necessary for Israelis’ security.”

Fifty-nine percent of Israelis, on the other hand, don’t really see it that way.