Sohlberg Updates on Election Foreign Influence Probe

Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, chairman of Israel's Central Elections Committee, said Thursday that classified information presented in the investigation into suspected foreign influence in the elections has not yet amounted to actual evidence. He added that the information still requires a vigorous investigation that must be pursued to the end.

"Classified information has been presented which so far has not matured into actual evidence, and may never do so; time will tell," Sohlberg wrote in an update to the public and to members of the committee. "At the same time, this information requires a continued, vigorous investigation until it is exhausted. The evidentiary situation at this stage is similar to the evidentiary situation that was laid before us on the eve of the statement we issued to the media last week."

Sohlberg also described how the probe began. "As will be recalled, shortly after the elections, the head of the Shin Bet presented to me information that raised suspicions, some of them very serious, that have a bearing on the elections," he wrote. "I instructed him to open a comprehensive investigation into the matter, to get to the root of them; to refute them or to confirm them."

He went on to praise the Israel Security Agency, known as the Shin Bet. "From the very start of the current election campaign, the head of the Shin Bet harnessed himself and the service to protect the elections. Many actions were carried out, about which silence is best, to safeguard information security," he said. "My thanks, and the thanks of the entire Central Elections Committee, its members and its staff, go to the Shin Bet and its head. Their assistance during the election campaign is invaluable. The Shin Bet deserves gratitude and the public's trust."

Sohlberg said he had found that cooperation between the Shin Bet, the Israel Police and the Attorney General's office was good. "I asked about and examined the matter with the members of the special investigation team, good and level-headed professionals, and did not find that the Attorney General's office refused investigation requests that the Shin Bet submitted to it," he wrote. "I was promised, and I trust the promise, that every request submitted, which is based on suspicion as required by law, will be examined quickly, efficiently, with an inclination to grant whatever will lead to uncovering the truth, and in accordance with the law."

He pledged to keep monitoring the investigation and to act to remove any gaps or obstacles he identifies. He said findings would be made public once that could be done without thwarting the investigation or harming state security. He also urged caution about press coverage. "I would suggest that if you are exposed in the media to information about the investigation, take it with a grain of salt, since until now, there has been a great distance between the media descriptions and the conduct of the investigation," he wrote.

Sohlberg sharply criticized leaks from the probe. He said that on Tuesday evening the committee was told a classified opinion relating to the investigation had been completed and would be delivered by courier the next day. Shortly afterward, before the document had reached its recipients, its main points appeared in online media. The committee received the opinion only at noon on Wednesday.

"I am not complaining about manners and etiquette, but about repeated harm to the investigation, and especially to its security aspects, because of the leaks," Sohlberg wrote. "Such a leak is a grievous evil. I remarked on this severely today. The public deserves that we bring the investigation to completion."