Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conversations with casino magnate and GOP mega donor Sheldon Adelson are a matter of public interest and must be disclosed.
According to the ruling, Netanyahu must disclose the dates of his phone conversations with the conservative gambling mogul who is a financier of and publisher of a free Israel newspaper.
The Adelson-funded Israel Hayom is widely perceived as strongly supportive of Netanyahu and the phone calls may offer further insights into any links that could exist between Netanyahu’s administration and the publication, along with any potential conflicts of interest.
Netanyahu has been under fire for amidst legal troubles that include criminal probes into whether he attempted to arrange more favorable coverage from the publisher of a rival publication in exchange for curbing Israel Hayom’s circulation numbers.
Israeli police disclosed last week that Netanyahu is suspected of crimes involving fraud, breach of trust and bribes.
Netanyahu maintains that he has committed no wrongdoing.
