WATCH IT: Netanyahu Whips Out “Bugs Bunny Doll”, Calls Corruption Case a “Political Trial”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu launched an extraordinary public assault on Israel’s legal system Thursday, accusing state prosecutors of waging a “political trial” meant to drive him from office and portraying the corruption charges against him as absurd and illegitimate.

In a sharply worded English-language video released just days after he formally requested a presidential pardon, Netanyahu claimed that foreign audiences had asked him to explain his case — prompting him, he said, to speak “directly and clearly.”

Netanyahu is charged in three corruption cases, including bribery in Case 4000 and fraud and breach of trust in Cases 1000 and 2000. He denies all wrongdoing. But on Thursday, he took aim not only at the allegations but at the prosecutors themselves.

“I’m accused of receiving favorable press coverage from a second-rate internet site,” he said, calling the charge “the so-called bribe.” He went further: “In 250 years of liberal democracy, no one has been accused of receiving favorable press coverage as a crime.” Netanyahu insisted that, in reality, he received hostile coverage, charging that prosecutors continued the case because “they’re not interested in justice. They’re interested in getting me out of office.”

The prime minister mocked sections of his cross-examination, saying prosecutors questioned him about his son receiving a Bugs Bunny doll “29 years ago” and about cigars gifted by a friend. “From now on this trial will be known as the Bugs Bunny trial,” he said. “It’s a farce… six years of bogus investigations on these idiotic charges.”

Netanyahu complained that the proceedings — already four years long and projected to last several more — force him to attend court three times a week for hours at a time, preventing him from focusing on national priorities. “There are peace treaties to get. There’s AI and other technologies that could change Israel… I can’t deal with that.”

His decision to request a pardon marks a dramatic escalation in a legal saga that has gripped Israel for years. The request, submitted by his attorney to President Isaac Herzog, has been forwarded to the President’s legal department for review.

Netanyahu ended his video by acknowledging the gamble: “So they asked for a pardon. I ask for a pardon, okay? And we’ll see if it comes out.”