Jerusalem: Herzog’s office said on Wednesday that it had received a letter from Trump calling for clemency for Netanyahu. ‘This morning, President Isaac Herzog received the attached letter from US President Donald Trump, calling on him to consider granting a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,’ the Israeli president’s office said in a statement.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, in his letter, Trump praised Netanyahu as a ‘formidable and decisive wartime prime minister’ and argued that the charges against him were politically motivated. ‘While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System… I believe that this ‘case’ against Bibi… is political, unjustified prosecution,’ Trump wrote.

Trump’s letter follows remarks he made in October during an address to the Israeli parliament, where he first suggested that Herzog consider pardoning Netanyahu.