Axios: “Netanyahu and his allies are publicly pressuring the judges in his corruption trial to postpone the presentation of evidence and witnesses until after Israel’s elections on March 23. ‘Everybody knows the cases against me are rigged,’ Netanyahu claimed on Monday. ‘This is why I don’t think the hearing of witnesses in my trial should begin before the elections because even if it is not the intention, it would look like a flagrant interference in the elections.'”
“The presentation of evidence against Netanyahu in the lead-up to the trial would be a gift to his opponents, and put him in a difficult position. It’s in Netanyahu’s legal interest to sit in the courtroom and look witnesses in the eyes as they testify against him, but it’s in his political interest to stay out of court in order to show that he’s focusing on affairs of state.”