'Birds of a Feather': Trump Urges Israeli President to Pardon Netanyahu in Fraud Case
One critic said such a move—which would require an admission of guilt—risks giving a "green light" to corruption.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Wednesday that he had received a request from US President Donald Trump to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently on trial in Israel for alleged bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
“I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister, and is now leading Israel into a time of peace," Trump wrote in a letter to Herzog.
While Trump said that he "absolutely respect[s] the independence of the Israeli Justice System,” he denounced the case against Netanyahu as “political, unjustified prosecution.”
"It is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all," Trump added, using Netanyahu's nickname.
U.S. President Donald Trump, also a criminal, has formally requested Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
[image or embed]
— Josep Goded (New Main Account) (@josepgoded2.bsky.social) November 12, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Herzog's office responded to Trump's letter with the following statement:
The president holds great respect for President Trump and repeatedly expresses his appreciation for Trump’s unwavering support of Israel and his tremendous contribution to the return of the hostages, the reshaping of the Middle East and Gaza, and the safeguarding of Israel’s security. Without detracting from the above, as the president has made clear on multiple occasions, anyone seeking a pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid noted in a social media post that "Israeli law stipulates that the first condition for receiving a pardon is an admission of guilt and an expression of remorse for those actions."
Amir Fuchs, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem-based think tank Israel Democracy Institute, told the Washington Post that “pardon is a word for forgiveness, a pardon without some kind of admission of guilt is very unusual and even illegal."
Fuchs added that any pardon based on Trump's request could be viewed as giving a "green light" to corruption and "undermining the rule of law."
Many social media users responded to Trump's letter with the same four words—"birds of a feather"—noting that the Republican president was convicted of 34 felony charges related to the falsification of business records regarding hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 presidential election.
In addition to his domestic trial, Netanyahu is also a fugitive from the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the Gaza genocide.
Herzog also faces criminal complaints filed in Switzerland alleging incitement to genocide over remarks including a suggestion that Palestinian civilians in Gaza were legitimate targets for Israeli strikes because "it is an entire nation out there that is responsible" for the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack.
Like former President Joe Biden before him, Trump has supported Israel with billions of dollars worth of US armed aid and diplomatic cover including vetoes of United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolutions.
In the first prosecution of a sitting Israeli prime minister, Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 for allegedly giving or offering lucrative official favors to media tycoons in exchange for positive news coverage or gifts valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars. The prime minister—who has also been accused of drawing out Israel's assault on Gaza to delay his case—denies any wrongdoing and, like Trump, has called his prosecution a "witch hunt."
