Sharon Indicted

Israel is now facing a difficult decision as a nation. The chief prosecutor has drafted an indictment against Ariel Sharon in relation to some long-standing corruption charges. Personally, I believe that a trial should go forward, with some contraints.

Normally, when a national leader gets accused of some minor crime, I am of the opinion that the trial should be postponed until after the expiration of the term of office. The sexual harrassment charges against Bill Clinton were a good example. They were important, but they did not cast doubt on his ability to effectively govern the nation. The investigation should not stop, and should there be something like perjury, then that should be pursued, which is why I was glad that Clinton was impeached.

But a charge like corruption does cast doubt on the ability to govern. As such a trial should move forward and the charges heard and judged as soon as possible.

That being said, since this would be a trial involving a national leader, there do need to be some considerations paid to the fact that he still needs to be able to conduct his business of governing as unfettered as possible. Perhaps what is needed is a time limit on the length of time during which he can be required to testify, or maybe an independent panel to monitor his responsibilities as prime minister and his responsibilities to attend the trial and to make a determination of when the trial is taking too much away from his primary responsibility.

But the trial needs to go forward. The Israeli people have a right to know if Sharon is legally corrupt or not. Corruption is a big deal for a national leader.

I hope that the Israelis figure out how to move this forward. Maybe it would provide an example to the French for handling Chirac.