Mike Huckabee makes a surprise appearance at Netanyahu’s corruption trial but is quickly asked to leave
Huckabee said he dropped in on Netanyahu’s trial to “see what’s going on” but was asked to leave after proceedings were moved behind closed doors.
It comes after President Donald Trump vowed to “save Netanyahu” as he hit out at the Israeli leader’s “witch-hunt” corruption trial.
“Why did I come? I wanted to see what’s going on. I’m watching, it’s an open trial,” Huckabee said outside Tel Aviv District Court.
Trump claimed Israel’s prime minister was a “great hero” and “warrior” who faced politically motivated charges and called for the trial to be cancelled.
Huckabee later wrote on social media: “I stopped by the trial of @IsraeliPM in Tel Aviv today. My conclusion? @realDonaldTrump is right…again.”
Huckabee was confirmed as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel in April 2025.
The Senate confirmation of Huckabee, a well-known evangelical Christian, was reported as a relief to Israeli officials, although he told lawmakers during a March hearing that he would “carry out the president’s priorities, not mine” as ambassador.
That pledge came in response to questions about some of his past statements about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people.
“I am not here to articulate or defend my own views or policies, but to present myself as one who will respect and represent the president, whose overwhelming election by the people will hopefully give me the honor of serving as ambassador to the state of Israel,” Huckabee said at the time.
Huckabee acknowledged his past support for Israel’s right to annex the West Bank and incorporate its Palestinian population into Israel, but said it would not be his “prerogative” to carry out that policy.
Huckabee, a one-time presidential hopeful, also has repeatedly backed referring to the West Bank by its biblical name of “Judea and Samaria,” a term that right-wing Israeli politicians and activists have thus far fruitlessly pushed the U.S. to accept.
In the first case, the Israeli leader is alleged to have committed fraud and breach of trust over claims he and his wife, Sara, received expensive gifts illicitly from a Hollywood media mogul, according to The Times of Israel.
In the second instance, he is accused of fraud and breach of trust for allegedly attempting to persuade a newspaper publisher to provide favorable coverage in exchange for legislation that would weaken the newspaper’s key rival.
In the third case, Netanyahu is alleged to have passed legislation that financially benefited a telecommunications giant shareholder in return for more favourable media coverage.
Trump frequently used the term “witch-hunt” to describe his own legal battles prior to his re-election in November 2024.
Israeli President Issac Herzog has the power to pardon Netanyahu but has been quoted by Israeli media as saying that it is “not currently on the table.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
