Deputy State Attorney Shlomo (Mumi) Lemberger on Thursday told an Israel Bar Association conference that he personally would oppose any plea deal with former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu which did not include a finding of moral turpitude which would effectively end his career.
"It would be inconceivable to have a deal without moral turpitude," based on the various public corruption charges brought against Netanyahu, said Lemberger.
Lemberger is only one of many senior voices and has not been at the forefront of the Netanyahu cases, with the key voice being Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit and the next most important views being State Attorney Amit Aisman, Netanyahu cases lead lawyer Liat Ben Ari and lead Case 4000 lawyer Yehudit Tirosh.
But it is expected that he would not have expressed his view in public without at least a silent nod from his superiors, and in general, his views could be considered to represent the outlook of most of the prosecution on a major issue like the Netanyahu cases.
Despite constant excitement about a potential plea deal since last week, the sides so far are stuck over whether Netanyahu will agree to end his career in politics or at least agree to the prosecution requesting this before the court.
Most recent predictions are that unless Netanyahu moves toward the prosecution on this issue, the time for cutting a deal will run out before Mandelblit steps down on February 1.