Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara announced on Thursday evening that she is transferring responsibility for investigating the Sde Teiman affair to State Attorney Amit Aisman.

Her announcement came shortly after the publication of a legal opinion by Yael Kotik, the legal adviser to the Ministry of Justice, stating that Baharav-Miara is barred from handling the case due to a significant conflict of interest.

However, shortly after Baharav-Miara’s statement, Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced that he had officially appointed retired judge Asher Kula to oversee the investigation after receiving a legal opinion confirming the legality of the appointment.

The Ministry of Justice later released a statement on behalf of the Ombudsman for Complaints Against Judges that Asher Kula has accepted the role. “The ombudsman accepted the appointment in accordance with the letter sent by the justice minister, after consulting with the ministry’s legal adviser, who determined that there is no legal impediment to his accepting the role. The ombudsman has sent letters to all parties involved in the investigation, requesting their cooperation.”

Channel 12 commentator Amit Segal wrote in response to the report: “The attorney general’s decision is very strange for two reasons: A. The State Attorney is legally subordinate to her—if she’s disqualified, how is she not disqualified from transferring authority to him? B. The Deputy State Attorney, at the very least, was extremely negligent—he was the one who told the Supreme Court that the leak investigation was thorough and professional. Will the State Attorney now summon his own deputy for testimony or perhaps a criminal warning? Won’t that harm public trust?”

“The wording of the law appears clear and gives the justice minister the authority to determine who will be assigned the role. We’ll see what the petitioners argue in the Supreme Court.”

Likud MK Moshe Saada slammed the Attorney General, stating: “Gali Baharav-Miara doesn’t understand that the game is over and that we don’t intend to back down. So let me make it clear to her: we will not allow you to hand over responsibility for the investigation to the State Attorney, who works under you and will not investigate you—just as the Deputy Military Advocate General failed to investigate the Military Advocate General (even though you ‘oversaw’ the process).”

“Only an investigation conducted by an independent body—that is, someone not subordinate to Ms. Miara—will uncover the truth. And as stated, we will make sure that’s what happens.”

Media commentator Erez Tadmor wrote, “Gali Baharav-Miara’s regime of fear and the mafia of the prosecutorial elite have collapsed. After years of delay, the decent people within the system are finally daring to raise their heads and draw a red line. Gali Baharav-Miara is about to learn firsthand that the laws of the state apply to her as well.”

Minister Amichai Chikli responded by stating, “State Attorney Aisman is a full partner in the cover-up of the Sde Teiman affair. He personally blocked the submission of the Diaspora Affairs Ministry’s report on the serious damage caused by the leaked video in order to present only the prosecution’s false position, claiming that no harm was caused to state security.”

Likud MK Avichay Boaron and the Lavi organization, who filed the petition to the Supreme Court, said in response to Baharav-Miara’s announcement, “As we’ve claimed from day one, the Attorney General has a severe conflict of interest and is herself suspected in the affair. Throughout the process, she has acted to stall the investigation and, in the past week, has irreversibly tainted it. She herself must be investigated.”

“Transferring the case to the State Attorney’s Office is an insult to the public. It was Deputy State Attorney Alon Altman who personally oversaw the corrupt internal investigation in the Military Advocate General’s office. The State Attorney cannot investigate himself or his superior, the Attorney General.”

“This is yet another attempt to obstruct justice and move the investigation ‘from one pocket to another.’ The prosecution, which oversaw the investigation, cannot investigate itself. We will only agree to an external, truly independent investigative body.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)