Olmert’s attorneys say they’re not worried. The prosecution still has scant hard evidence, they argue, and if it relies only on a state witness whose hands had admittedly been deep inside the cookie jar, a conviction would be hard to attain.
That’s not necessarily true. What emerges from Zaken’s statements, even before she has signed the deal and started offering chapter and verse, is the appearance of systematic corruption, with millions being delivered in blank envelopes, and with Olmert as the core spirit of all that bubbling pit of greed.
I’ve pointed out before that, from my religious perspective, Olmert is only beginning to experience the Divine Wrath he so richly deserves for his role in the Gush Katif deportations, as well as for his plans to give East Jerusalem and many Jewish settlements to a future Palestinian State.
You’d think that Israel’s anti-settlement millionaire politicians, who seem to surround themselves with so many magical Haredi rabbis, would pick up on the fact that God punishes Jews who give away parts of Eretz Israel.
Ah, well, they eventually have plenty of time on their hands to open up a bible once they’re behind bars.