President Trump has issued a formal request to Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial facing charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate corruption cases. Those cases began in 2020 and marked the first time a sitting Israeli Prime Minister testified as a criminal defendant.
The letter reads:
As the Great State of Israel and the amazing Jewish People move past the terribly difficult times of the last three years, I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister and is now leading Israel into a time of peace, which includes my continued work with key Middle East leaders to add many additional countries to the world changing Abraham Accords.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries and long odds, and his attention cannot be unnecessarily diverted," the letter continued. Trump went on to say that he respects the independence of the Israeli justice system, but argued that the case against Netanyahu is a "political, unjustified prosecution."
Trump continued, "it is time to let Bibi unite Israel by pardoning him, and ending that lawfare once and for all."
President Herzog's office responded to the letter, indicating that any pardon request must go through proper channels, which includes a request from the person the pardon is intended to affect. They wrote:
“President Herzog holds President Trump in the highest regard and continues to express his deep appreciation for President Trump’s unwavering support for Israel, his tremendous contribution to the return of the hostages, to reshaping the situation in the Middle East and Gaza especially, and to ensuring the security of the State of Israel. Alongside and not withstanding this, as the Office of the President has made clear throughout, anyone seeking a Presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures.
President Trump made the same suggestion when he spoke to the Knasset in early October, shortly before signing an official ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. “Hey, I have an idea. Mr. President [Herzog], why don’t you give him a pardon? Give him a pardon. Come on,” he said during his speech.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump asks the President of Israel ON THE SPOT to give Benjamin Netanyahu "a PARDON."
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 13, 2025
The Knesset erupts into a standing ovation
"That was NOT in the speech! But I happen to like him, and it just seems to make so much sense. One of the greatest war time… pic.twitter.com/EgdBx2RtEj
President Trump has made several comments indicating that he believes Prime Minister Netanyahu has been treated unfairly. The most recent of which was during an interview at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where Trump told Norah O’Donnell that he was going to try and "help him out a little bit."