Collusion suspected in investigation of Netanyahu aide

The judge assigned to handle a corruption investigation against a former aide to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been removed from the case, after it was revealed she had traded messages with investigators and planned her response to their appeal before the hearing in question ever began.

The probe, dubbed “Case 4000”, centers on suspicions that a Netanyahu aide provided chief Bezeq shareholder Shaul Elovitch with regulatory benefits in exchange for sympathetic coverage to the prime minister and his wife on the Walla! news website, which is owned by Elovitch as well.

Earlier this week, Shlomo Filber, the Director General of the Communications Ministry and a close associate of Netanyahu, signed a deal to turn state’s evidence in the case.

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