Wednesday is accompanied by two significant deadlines in reference to the criminal investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

One Wednesday evening, the court-imposed gag order on the investigation him expires, at which time additional details in the case will be released to the nation, permitting Mr. Olmert�s attorneys to know exactly what the police know in the case.

In addition, on Wednesday night, the order barring the state�s star witness, Moshe Talansky from leaving Israel expires, making him a free man who can leave when he so decides.

In the meantime, Talansky is scheduled to provide the state advanced testimony in the case, on Sunday, after the Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Olmert�s attorneys to block the advanced testimony, which they claimed prejudices the case against their client. At present, Talansky�s version of events contradicts the prime ministers, and the state�s star witness admits there were envelopes with cash given to Uri Messer, Olmert�s partner, well above the amount required to cover election campaigns or campaign debts. That said, Talansky stated with absolute certainty that while he gave Olmert money, he never did so expecting political favors in return.

Olmert�s attorneys on Wednesday petitioned the Jerusalem District Court which agreed to hear the appeal on Friday, May 22nd, at 9am. The prime minister�s legal team is seeking to push off the planned deposition of Talansky, claiming they need additional time to review the material in hand.

Originally, the state was adamantly opposed to such a request, claiming the papers were made available to the defense team some 10 days ago, but the attorneys opted not to take them � fearing that by doing so, they would compromise their case since they were waiting for the Supreme Court ruling which was handed down on Tuesday. Only after the high court�s ruling did they take the papers. Now however, the state is signaling a possible willingness to permit a delay in Talansky�s testimony. It remains unclear however how this will be accomplished since Talansky has indicated he plans to leave the country next week.

In a related matter, Talansky�s attorneys deny reports that their client is going to face legal complications back in the United States from income tax authorities. Talansky stated if he is questioned in any matter in the USA he will cooperate complete, adding he has nothing to hide.

(Yechiel Spira � YWN Israel)