Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to be questioned on suspicion of tampering with the Case 4,000 investigation, according to Justice Ministry officials, the Hadashot evening news reported Monday.
Case 4,000 centers on allegations that Netanyahu pushed government regulations to help Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder in the Bezeq telecommunications company, in return for Elovitch ensuring positive coverage of the prime minister and his family on the Bezeq-owned Walla news website.
The Hadashot report followed reports earlier on Monday that former Netanyahu spokesman Nir Hefetz, who has turned state's witness in the case, told investigators he had asked Elovitch and his wife, Iris, to delete text messages they had received from the prime minister's wife, Sara, allegedly containing instructions to slant news coverage in favor of the prime minister and his family.
According to the Hadashot report, Hefetz did not decide alone to conceal evidence and destroy text messages, but was explicitly requested to do so. The report said Netanyahu himself apparently did not send any text messages.
The prime minister allegedly maintained his relationship with Elovitch through his wife and son, Yair Netanyahu. Others involved in the exchanges were the two state's witnesses in the case, Hefetz and former Communications Ministry Director General Shlomo Filber.
In response to the report, the Prime Minister's Office issued a statement saying: "Leaking material from the investigation, even if it consists of false claims, is the real tampering. The tampering charges [against Netanyahu] are nonsense. There was no tampering, no nothing."
Meanwhile, Channel 10 News reported Monday that the police have obtained text messages from Yair Netanyahu to Hefetz on the subject of Walla's coverage of the prime minister.
The report said Yair Netanyahu's texts allegedly decried Walla's negative coverage of his family. The report also said that Hefetz had testified that Yair Netanyahu was aware of the benefits given to Bezeq.
