After the publication of the legal opinion by the government's legal advisor against the establishment of the governmental investigation committee for the Pegasus affair, Guy Levy, the spokesperson of the Likud party, responds and suggests that the government's legal advisor, Gali Baharav-Miara, might have reasons to fear the results of the investigation.
In Levy's post, he wrote: "I don't understand the hysteria of various senior public officials against the investigative committee regarding the surveillance. Is there someone here who's afraid of the truth?"
As previously mentioned, it was reported earlier that the Legal Advisor to the Government, Gali Baharav-Miara, opposes the establishment of the government inquiry committee regarding the police's use of the Pegasus surveillance software.
The proposal was submitted by the Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, who, despite the expected opposition from Baharav-Miara, raised the issue in this week's government meeting.
In the opinion that was published by Baharav-Miara and signed by her two deputies - Attorney Sharon Afek and Dr. Gil Limon - it is argued that there is a lack of authority for the government to grant the investigative committee the authority to engage in pending and ongoing criminal proceedings due to a genuine concern for improper influence on these proceedings.
"Undermining the independence of the law enforcement system"
In addition to their statements, there is a significant concern about impacting the work of the police and security bodies, due to the exposure of crucial methods and means that these same bodies use in their fight against serious crime and in safeguarding the security of the state. "This concern is not trivial and has not been addressed within the framework of the proposed decision."
The legal advisory to the government specifies in the letter that granting authority to the governmental investigation committee to conduct an examination regarding pending and ongoing criminal proceedings exceeds the authority vested in the Minister of Justice and the government under Section 8A of the law "and undermines fundamental principles of the independence of the law enforcement system."
"Accordingly, in our opinion, there is a legal impediment to authorize the committee to engage in pending criminal proceedings."
