Report on Secret 2019 Pardon Opinion Triggers Fierce Denial from President Herzog’s Office
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a presidential pardon continued to ripple through Israel’s political system on Monday after Channel 12 aired details from what it described as a confidential 2019 legal memorandum examining whether a president may grant clemency before a conviction in a political case. The broadcast revived questions about President Isaac Herzog’s ties to an opinion drafted years before he entered office, prompting a sharp rebuttal from the President’s Residence.
According to the report, the unpublished 17-page assessment was prepared at the time for a former associate of Herzog, who was then leading the Jewish Agency and considered a front-runner for the presidency. Channel 12 said the opinion reviewed scenarios in which an Israeli president might grant a pardon to a serving prime minister before indictment or trial, and whether such an action could form part of an agreement to retire from public life.
Give the gift of hope
We practice what we preach:
accurate, fearless journalism. But we can't do it alone.
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
Join us.
Support The Media Line. Save democracy.
Herzog’s office rejected the insinuation that he had explored a political arrangement with Netanyahu, saying the claim was both baseless and defamatory. It said, “There was never any agreement, understanding, or acknowledgment between President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu linking Herzog’s tenure to Netanyahu’s legal proceedings, neither explicitly nor implicitly,” adding that anyone asserting otherwise “is lying and at risk of legal action.” The president’s staff said he never requested the analysis and has instructed his attorney to pursue appropriate steps in response to the broadcast.
Channel 12 attributed the legal document to senior attorney Eyal Rozovsky. It said it examined whether early clemency is lawful, whether accepting such a pardon implies guilt, and how the High Court might review such a decision. Citing the report, the opinion concluded that broad presidential powers exist but that “agreement and cooperation of the legal authorities and most of all the attorney general” would be necessary, with the High Court retaining ultimate oversight. It also reportedly referenced the Bus 300 case as the most relevant precedent.
Herzog’s office emphasized that the opinion was commissioned by Motti Sander, described as a former adviser acting independently. It said Herzog first learned of the document only after it surfaced in the press, noting he later won the presidency in 2021 with broad Knesset support and did not depend on Netanyahu’s backing. The office reiterated that the prime minister’s current pardon request is undergoing a review by Justice Ministry officials and will take several weeks to complete.
