Israel PM facing criminal investigation over bank privatization News
Israel PM facing criminal investigation over bank privatization

[JURIST] The Israeli Ministry of Justice [official website] said Tuesday the state prosecutor plans to launch an investigation into allegations that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [official website; BBC profile] impermissibly promoted the interests of two business associates in his capacity as minister of finance during the 2005 state sale of Bank Leumi [official website]. Olmert supposedly favored his associates in the sell-off of the bank's controlling interest. The bank was eventually sold to a US group to which Olmert's associates were unconnected. Olmert's opponents responded to news of the probe with calls for his resignation, while a spokesperson for Olmert said he would "fully cooperate" with the investigation. Reuters has more.

Rumors of the criminal probe first surfaced [JURIST report] in October after word of an internal Ministry of Justice memo calling for a probe was leaked. Allegations of bribery have also been made, since one of Olmert's friends seeking approval of his bid for the bank overpaid for Olmert's house and then allowed Olmert to rent it at a low price.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.