Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes has all but admitted to police that he has spoken in the past with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid about a bill seeking to curtail Israel Hayom's operations.
The admission was obtained as part of a Major Crimes Unit investigation into Case 2,000, which centers on conversations Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had with Mozes, during which they allegedly discussed striking an illicit deal by which Yedioth would soften its aggressive anti-Netanyahu stance in return for the prime minister using his influence to curtail Israel Hayom's activities in ways that would benefit Yedioth financially.
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The legislation in question, known as "the bill for the promotion and protection of printed press in Israel," was introduced in 2014. The bill was tailored to target Israel Hayom, as it defines a free daily newspaper as one distributed six days a week that contains at least 30 pages on weekdays and 100 pages on weekends – conditions that by definition exclude other free dailies such as publisher Eli Azur's Israel Post, which is published five days a week.
Details of Mozes' latest interrogation, obtained by Israel Hayom, show that Yedioth's publisher attempted to defend Lapid but eventually caved into pressure and admitted the two had discussed the controversial bill, which essentially sought to muzzle Yedioth Ahronoth's biggest rival.
Lapid, who was a journalist prior to entering politics, worked for the Yedioth Ahronoth Group between 1988 and 2012. The two had often claimed that any meeting they had was one of old acquaintances simply getting together, but in November 2018, Channel 10 News revealed that dozens of those meetings were redacted from Lapid's schedule, raising questions as to their true nature.
Lapid, for his part, has refused to disclose the nature of the meetings. He also rejected reports suggesting his party received favorable coverage in Yedioth in exchange for Yesh Atid's support for the anti-Israel Hayom bill.
"Politicians meet with journalists and publishers all the time. There's nothing wrong with that," he told Channel 10 News at the time.
In the transcripts of his interrogation, Mozes says Lapid "always said he would never deal with any legislation concerning the media." But pushed by Police Brig. Gen. Coresh Barnoor, the lead investigator in Case 2,000, as to whether he and Lapid ever discussed the Israel Hayom bill specifically, Mozes said, "We might have."
On Thursday, the State Attorney's Office ruled there was no cause to investigate Lapid over the issue, saying, "The mere fact that journalists, publishers or other individuals in the media meet with elected officials, does not, in and of itself, constitute wrongdoing or a conflict of interests.
"The nature of a meeting – not the fact that it took place – is the only relevant issue with respect to potential criminal misconduct. With regard to the meetings between Lapid and Mozes – there is no evidence to suggest their nature warrants a criminal investigation."
A statement by Lapid's office said: "Yair Lapid never took part in the vote on the Israel Hayom bill. The person taped being offered a bribe by Noni [Arnon] Mozes as Benjamin Netanyahu. The State Attorney's Office has already reviewed Lapid's conduct in the matter and has ruled he is without fault."
