Free Republic

TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political and personal future hangs in the balance this week, as a pretrial hearing weighing whether to indict him on corruption charges kicked off. Following the four-day hearing which began Wednesday, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit will decide whether to indict Israel’s longest serving prime minister on fraud and bribery charges in three corruption cases. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing and has said he is the victim of a politically orchestrated “witch-hunt” by the media and the left. The start of the hearing came after talks to form a unity government, following last month's...

CAMP PENDLETON -- The Marine Corps announced late Tuesday afternoon that it will not waive pretrial hearings requested by four of eight Camp Pendleton troops accused of kidnapping and murder in the death of an Iraqi man. Maj. Jeff Nyhart said the decision was made by the commander of U.S. Marine Forces and issued the following prepared statement. "In order to make a fair and impartial decision on the disposition of these cases, the commander ... wants the impartial analysis of the charges and evidence afforded by an Article 32 investigation," the statement said. Last week, civilian attorneys for four...

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Jan. 13, 2006 – An extra hearing yesterday in the case of a Canadian teen accused of murdering a U.S. Army medic in Afghanistan dealt with acceptable levels of pre-trial publicity. Presiding Officer Marine Col. Robert S. Chester, an experienced military judge, ruled that public comments made by the prosecution did not damage the defense's case. Muneer Ahmad, civilian defense attorney for Omar Ahmed Khadr, requested Jan. 11 that Chester prevent chief prosecutor Air Force Col. Morris Davis from making inflammatory comments in the media. In particular, Ahmad, a law professor at American University, objected...

EAGLE, Colo. - In what is considered a first in Colorado courts, prosecutors and Kobe Bryant's lawyers are wrangling over details of how to guide jurors in determining the NBA star's guilt or innocence. Defense attorneys want state District Judge Terry Ruckriegle to tell jurors they must acquit Bryant if they determine the alleged victim consented to submit to sex. That issue is among several brought up in the sexual assault case against Bryant that have not come up before in Colorado courts. Bryant's high-powered defense team has flooded prosecutors with paper, filing motions and seeking rulings on anything they...