Attorneys Amit Hadad and Noa Milstein, who are representing Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu in three cases of alleged graft, filed a request on Tuesday with Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit to open a probe to identify the source of leaks about the investigation into the former prime minister.
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"The flood of leaks from the case under discussion is unprecedented and destructive to the management of a fair trial," Netanyahu's attorneys wrote.
"The timing of the leaks creates the strong suspicion that it aimed to influence testimony in an unacceptable manner, and even lead to [witnesses] coordinating their stories," they said.
Hadad and Milstein went on to detail a series of leaks published in various media outlets prior to being presented to the defense team.
Earlier Tuesday, the court voiced criticism of the leaks, with one judge saying, "This is very serious. What will happen later if this is the situation now?"
"We cannot ignore the leaks. We expect the investigative authorities to clarify them and do everything necessary to prevent future leaks," the judges wrote.
The petition to Mendelblit came after Netanyahu made his first appearance in court in over six months as former aide Nir Hefetz prepared to take the stand against him.
Hefetz is a star prosecution witness in the case against Netanyahu, with his close proximity to the Netanyahu during several years in office a key part of the evidence. Hefetz left a long career in journalism in 2009 to work as a spokesman for Netanyahu's government, then in 2014 became the Netanyahu family's spokesman and adviser.
Netanyahu entered the courtroom Tuesday accompanied by a lawyer, his younger son, Avner, and a pair of supporters from his Likud party. The security presence around the building was much smaller than past sessions, when Netanyahu was the prime minister.
His lawyers immediately asked that Tuesday's session be delayed following reports that another witness had come forward with new evidence alleging that Netanyahu's wife, Sara, had accepted an expensive bracelet as a gift from two billionaire friends, Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer.
Netanyahu's lawyers argued that the former prime minister and his wife were caught off-guard by the allegations and had the right to study the evidence before Hefetz took the stand.
After a short recess, the court accepted the request and postponed Hefetz's testimony until next Monday.
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