Olmert seeks to block pretrial statements

JERUSALEM, May 19 (UPI) -- Attorneys for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sought Monday to block a pretrial deposition by U.S. man considered a key witness in the Olmert investigation.

Olmert's attorneys told a three-judge panel that allowing businessman Moshe Talansky's deposition would hurt their client's chances for a fair trial, Ynetnews.com reported.

Police suspect that Olmert received a bribe. Talansky, who lives in New York, is a witness in the investigation against the prime minister.

Talansky raised donations and transferred them to Olmert, who said the funds were used to finance election campaigns and cover deficits, Ynetnews.com said.

"No unusual privileges stand for the prime minister, but it is inconceivable that he will be deprived of the same legal privileges every other citizen in entitled to," Eli Zohar, Olmert's attorney, told the court.

State Prosecutor Moshe Lador said the deposition was crucial because Talansky also is a suspect ,and his promise to return to Israel to testify cannot assured.

Meanwhile, police were awaiting a response from Olmert's lawyers to their request to interrogate the prime minister again.

"We still have not had a reply from them," a police spokesman told The Jerusalem Post Sunday.