The United States government reportedly paid $150,000 to a law firm with close ties to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the month leading up to the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, according to Israeli media outlet Haaretz.
The generous sum was paid to law firm E.S. Shimron, I. Molho, Persky & Co. for legal services provided to the U.S. consulate between April 9 and May 14, the exact period when the embassy was being relocated from Tel Aviv, Hareetz said, citing the U.S. government website USASpending.gov.
The firm is closely tied to Netanyahu, employing his cousin and personal lawyer David Shimron, as well as Isaac Molho, Shimron's brother-in-law who has served as Netanyahu's personal envoy on several diplomatic missions.
Molho reportedly signed a conflict of interest agreement in order to serve as envoy, which included a pledge not to work on matters involving the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem. In November 2016, however, Molho left his diplomatic post in the fallout of the "Case 3000" scandal over Israel's purchase of submarines and missile boats from Germany.
As the move to Jerusalem was being planned, the U.S. government realized the consulate building would require infrastructure work, including the construction of a perimeter wall to boost security and paving a new exit road.
Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said at the time that he would use his authority to waive the requirement for a building permit, but was rebutted by attorney Shachar Ben Meir who asked Attorney General Avichai Mendeblit to uphold equality before the law and not issue the waiver. He said Netanyahu's involvement in granting a waiver to the law firm would be a clear violation of legal process, due to the prime minister's close ties to the firm's attorneys.
A source in the prime minister's office told Haaretz that Netanyahu did not work with Kahlon to coordinate granting the waiver to the Shimron, Molho company and was unaware that the firm represented the consulate, other than the mention of it in the Molho's conflict of interest agreement.
E.S. Shimron, I. Molho, Persky & Co. said neither Shimron nor Molho handled the consulate's affairs, but that they had been referred to Orrin Persky, the firm's third partner.
Netanyahu fiercely denied claims that the consulate move was tied to the law firm:
"It is absurd to claim that the decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem and to implement the policy of the State of Israel for decades concerning the transfer of foreign embassies to Jerusalem, stems from the fact that the Shimron, Molho law firm is employed by the consulate. It should be noted that the prime minister did not deal with and did not intervene in the matter regarding building permits," a statement from the prime minister's office read.
The U.S. embassy told Haaretz: "As a general rule, we do not comment on matters relating to our retention of counsel. The U.S. Government has been using the services of Mr. Persky and his firm for ordinary business for over 30 years."
