Exclusive: Trump demands immediate pardon for Netanyahu to focus on Iran
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President Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog (left) at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv in October. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP
President Trump told Axios on Thursday that Israeli President Isaac Herzog must pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "today" — calling Herzog "a disgrace" for failing to act over the last year.
- "Every day I talk to Bibi about the war. I want him to focus on the war and not on the f*cking court case. I want the only pressure on Bibi to be the fighting against Iran," Trump said in a phone interview.
Why it matters: Trump has been pushing for a Netanyahu pardon since last June, arguing that his trial on corruption charges — ongoing since 2020 — is a "witch hunt" akin to the U.S. president's own legal troubles.
- But Thursday's comments — which Trump raised himself, unprompted — marked a dramatic escalation and direct intervention in Israel's legal system at a moment of active war.
What he is saying: "The president ... should give Bibi the pardon today. I don't want anything on Bibi's mind other than fighting against Iran," Trump told Axios.
- Trump claimed Herzog promised him five times over the past year that he would grant the pardon and never followed through. "He told me he would give it to him. But he has held it over Bibi's head for a year."
- "Tell him I am exposing him. That president better damn well give him the pardon right now — and stop using it as leverage for his own political career," he said.
The other side: A senior Israeli official pushed back on Trump's account, saying Herzog never promised a pardon.
- Herzog told Trump advisers Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee that he would consider the request in line with legal procedures, the official said.
"At a time when we are all mobilized, the President is not dealing with the issue of a pardon for Prime Minister Netanyahu," Herzog's office said in a statement.
- The statement praised Trump as "the leader of the free world" and "a central ally of Israel" — before delivering a pointed rebuke: "Israel is a sovereign state governed by the rule of law."
Zoom in: Trump said Netanyahu "should not be on trial over wine and cigars" — a reference to charges alleging he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cigars, champagne, jewelry and other gifts from billionaires in exchange for political favors.
- Trump added that Netanyahu is a wartime prime minister who "should not be in jail" and said he refuses to meet Herzog until the pardon is granted.
- A Trump adviser who has spoken to the president about the pardon told Axios: "Half of us know Bibi's full of crap, and half of us kind of think Bibi's a genius." Some believe both, the adviser added.
Between the lines: Trump's public pressure may be self-defeating.
- Israeli legal experts say that if Herzog grants the pardon now, it could be challenged before the Supreme Court on the grounds that it was the product of foreign political coercion rather than a legitimate legal process.
- Netanyahu's trial has been suspended regardless — the courts are closed under the emergency measures declared since the start of the war, other than for urgent matters.
State of play: The legal process of reviewing Netanyahu's pardon is still ongoing, with Herzog not yet receiving final legal opinions from all relevant government lawyers.
- "[O]nce the process is complete, the President of the State will examine the request in accordance with the law, the best interests of the state, and his conscience, and without any influence from external or internal pressures of any kind," Herzog's office said.
Netanyahu has refused to admit any wrongdoing or express remorse — two key conditions for receiving a pardon under Israeli law.
- His testimony remains ongoing, with Netanyahu and his lawyers repeatedly using delay tactics to shorten or cancel hearings. He has contradicted himself at points in his testimony
- "The President has previously expressed publicly his position that it would be appropriate for the relevant systems to engage in substantive dialogue with the aim of reaching an agreed arrangement, including the possibility of a plea deal, in the Prime Minister's case," Herzog's office said.
