Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, made a highly unusual appearance at the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, the latest sign of the Trump administration’s public support for Mr. Netanyahu in a long-running case.
Israeli prosecutors have indicted Mr. Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He has dealt with the legal challenge as Israel has waged wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran since the Hamas-led attack on the country on Oct. 7, 2023.
It is unusual for ambassadors to place themselves directly in a country’s legal issue. Mr. Huckabee’s appearance occurred after President Trump, who has been convicted in a number of cases, called for Mr. Netanyahu’s trial to be suspended.
Before he went to the courthouse, Mr. Huckabee said at a conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday that his visit was “an act of friendship,” to signal that “we want Israel to be successful.” He accused the judges overseeing Mr. Netanyahu’s trial of being biased, and he compared the Israeli leader to Mr. Trump, who was convicted of falsifying business records to conceal a sex scandal in 2024. Mr. Trump has declared the verdict against him a “disgrace.”
Of the Israeli case, Mr. Huckabee said, “It’s an unprecedented thing that in the midst of holding office, during an incredibly tense time, that you would spend a lot of your time — as our president had to do — sitting in a courtroom, often before judges who are totally unfair.”
Mr. Trump’s call for the trial to end was also rare: a direct intervention by an American president in judicial proceedings against an allied leader. He labeled the trial a “Witch Hunt against their Great War Time Prime Minister” last month on social media.
“Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Some political analysts say Mr. Trump hopes that lifting Mr. Netanyahu’s fear of being convicted would allow him to accept a politically risky agreement to end the war in Gaza. The prime minister’s hard-right coalition includes parties that oppose a permanent cease-fire with Hamas.
Mr. Huckabee said on social media after leaving the court that Mr. Trump was “right … again” about the case. He has also disputed that the president was directly intervening in the trial, contending that Mr. Trump was not “trying to pick a side.”
Israeli prosecutors indicted Mr. Netanyahu in 2019, accusing him of granting regulatory favors and diplomatic support to prominent businessmen in exchange for gifts and sympathetic media coverage. He denies all the charges.
The trial began in 2020 and split the country over whether Mr. Netanyahu could continue to serve as prime minister during the court proceedings. His opponents labeled him a “crime minister” whose purported dealings had rendered him unfit for office.
Mr. Netanyahu and his defenders have accused prosecutors of seeking to undo his election victory through legal means. The rhetoric echoes claims made by Mr. Trump, who has frequently attacked judges, bureaucrats and civil servants and accused them of unfairly acting against him.
There are several possible outcomes to the trial.
If the prime minister is convicted, Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, could pardon him. But legal analysts say the trial is set to continue for months at the very least.
Another option that has been discussed is a plea bargain, under which Mr. Netanyahu would accept some charges in exchange for a suspended sentence. But talks on that foundered after Mr. Netanyahu refused to accept a charge of “moral turpitude,” which would bar him from holding public office for several years.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
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