President Donald Trump called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “today” in an interview on Feb. 5.
The president called Herzog a “disgrace” for not acting before and emphasized that he wanted Netanyahu focused on the ongoing Iran war in a phone call with Axios. He spoke days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. (RELATED: Only One Republican Backs Failed Attempt To Restrict Trump’s Iran Military Action)
“Every day I talk to Bibi about the war. I want him to focus on the war and not on the f*cking court case. I want the only pressure on Bibi to be the fighting against Iran,” he said. “The president … should give Bibi a pardon today.”
Trump alleged Herzog promised to pardon Netanyahu on five occasions but didn’t do it, according to Axios. “Tell him I am exposing him. That president better damn well give him the pardon right now — and stop using it as leverage for his own political career,” he continued.
Following the strikes on Iran in June 2025, Trump expressed his outrage over the Israeli prime minister facing a court battle in a post on Truth Social.
“Bibi and I just went through HELL together,” e continued, “Despite all of this, I just learned that Bibi has been summoned to Court on Monday for the continuation of this long running … politically motivated case.”
Trump and Netanyahu’s joint attack on Iran killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump said the campaign against the Middle Eastern nation has been estimated to continue for around four to five weeks. The attacks follow Iranian authorities cracking down on demonstrations in January 2026.
The prime minister of Israel has been summoned to court numerous times in recent years. Officials charged him with fraud, taking bribes and breaching trust in connection with allegations of exchanging favors with wealthy benefactors.
Trump — laser-focused as always on “the forgotten men and women” in the US around whom he built his campaigns — writes a letter to Israel’s president urging him to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu on all the multiple corruption crimes the Israeli Prime Minister faces. #AmericaFirst https://t.co/pF5uR0sW9p
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 12, 2025
In one case, Netanyahu is accused of accepting lavish gifts from Australian billionaire James Packer and Israeli Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan in return for political favors, the Independent reported.
A separate case involves allegations that Netanyahu worked out a deal with a prominent daily newspaper for positive coverage, the outlet reported. He allegedly vowed to restrict the circulation of a media rival in exchange for the coverage.
The third case involves accusations that Netanyahu provided regulatory favors to Israel’s primary telecommunications corporation in exchange for favorable coverage on a news website, the outlet reported, citing Reuters.
Netanyahu, the first Israeli prime minister to be indicted in office, has denied all the allegations.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional information concerning the charges against Prime Minister Netanyahu.
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