Trump urges Israel's president to pardon Netanyahu

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump urged Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, during an address to the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem.

During a more than one-hour speech, Trump said:

"Hey, I have an idea. Mr. President, why don't you give him a pardon? Cigars and some champagne — who the hell cares?" referring to the fraud, bribery and breach of trust charges, which Netanyahu denies.

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in three cases, one of which includes receiving almost 700,000 shekels ($210,000) in gifts from businessmen, including champagne and cigars.

Israel's President holds a largely ceremonial role but he does have authority to pardon convicted criminal if there are unusual circumstances presented.

However, there has been no ruling in Netanyahu's long-running trial which began in 2020 and has been interrupted frequently during two years of war and Middle East upheaval. He has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.

Trump in June called for Netanyahu's trial to be cancelled. Netanyahu has cast his legal ordeal as a left-wing witch-hunt aimed at toppling an elected right-wing leader.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Alison Williams, Maayan Lubell and Hugh Lawson)

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