Source close to Netanyahu admits MKs were told to record comptroller votes — report

In recording aired on TV, source says ‘directive’ to record votes was ‘only way’ PM’s personal lawyer won ballot, conflicting with Likud MK’s claim they were given free choice

An individual close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that lawmakers were instructed to record their votes in the contentious election of the state comptroller, according to a recording aired on TV news on Friday.

“What do you mean? Everyone recorded themselves in Likud, that’s the only way we won. Very simple,” the individual said in the recording, which was manipulated by Channel 13 so as not to reveal their identity.

The person they are speaking to replies: “Everyone says ‘there is no directive,'” to which the source responded: “It’s a lie, there was a directive.”

A Likud lawmaker claimed on Thursday that they had filmed the vote, meant to be a secret ballot, of their own “free choice.”

Lawmakers voted 61-57 on Wednesday to elect Netanyahu’s personal lawyer, Michael Rabello, as state comptroller in a controversial do-over vote marred by accusations that illegal pressure on Likud MKs to record their votes and prove they hadn’t turned on the premier tainted the election.

Retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron had come out ahead in the first round, falling just one vote short of the 61 votes needed for victory in the 120-member parliament, meaning that several coalition lawmakers had voted for Elron, defying pressure to vote for Rabello.

The Knesset’s legal adviser Sagit Afik issued a legal opinion Thursday night rejecting a call for lawmakers to be required to hold a new election for the post of state comptroller. The opposition Yesh Atid party had argued that the vote was tainted and requested that it be overridden.

Rabello, Netanyahu’s longtime personal lawyer, is scheduled to be sworn in on July 1.

At least one petition to the High Court has been filed against Rabello’s appointment, requesting that the court issue an order blocking him from taking up the post until the justices can make a final ruling.

A key question is likely to be whether it can be proven that the lawmakers documented themselves due to external pressure rather than of their own free will.

On Thursday, Rabello met with outgoing comptroller Matanyahu Englman for a transition briefing in the State Comptroller’s Office.

The state comptroller, who reports directly to the Knesset, is responsible, among other things, for the external oversight of the activities of government ministries and local government, and the financial affairs of political parties, safeguarding the public interest. The outgoing comptroller has also been probing the government’s role in the failures that led up to the October 7, 2023, massacre.

The office is meant to be independent of the prime minister and the government, making Rabello’s candidacy and now election particularly sensitive given his longstanding ties to Netanyahu and the allegations that coalition lawmakers were pressured to support him.

Rabello has represented Netanyahu in various political negotiations and has acted for both the prime minister and his wife, Sara, in numerous legal proceedings.

Among other cases, he has represented Netanyahu before the High Court of Justice on multiple occasions, including in petitions against the government demanding that a state commission of inquiry be established into the failures surrounding the Hamas-led October 7 invasion and atrocities.

He has also represented the premier’s Likud party, Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, and a slate of municipal authorities and state institutions. He is also married to the Finance Ministry’s deputy legal adviser.

Ariela Karmel contributed to this report.