Leaked Police Interrogation Footage of Netanyahu, and How He Cowers Behind War to Keep Power

Alex Gibney's documentary 'BB Files' is based on over a thousand hours of leaked police interrogation videos from a 2016 investigation into Benjamin Netanyahu. These tapes, which include interrogations of Netanyahu, his wife Sara, and son Yair, allegedly expose a pattern of bribery and corruption. The guest describes Netanyahu as a 'petty, corrupt man desperately lying to save his skin,' and his family as deeply entitled.

The tapes detail charges of trading his position as prime minister for favors, including jewelry for his wife, expensive Cuban cigars, and a $250 million financial arrangement for favorable coverage on the Walla news website.

Following the 2015 election and the onset of corruption investigations, Netanyahu allegedly became 'possessed of a sense of enormous arrogance' and began taking actions to protect himself. He attempted to 'fix the Department of Justice' by engaging in judicial reforms aimed at weakening the power of the judiciary in Israel.

This move, which caused a 'huge uproar' and was seen as 'fundamentally undermining Israel's democracy,' is presented as a direct effort to undermine the case against him.

Netanyahu is accused of a 'generalized sense of corruption' that led him to modulate the relationship with Hamas. He allegedly allowed millions of dollars to flow to Hamas from Qatar, sometimes in bags of cash, through Israel.

The stated reason for this policy was to 'undermine the Palestinian authority on the West Bank in order to be able to allow for his right-wing coalition to get more and more territory via settlements.'

The documentary suggests that the 'enduring ferocity savagery of the war' in Gaza, post-October 7th, served a political purpose for Netanyahu. By becoming a 'wartime president,' he could not be 'successfully prosecuted for the crimes he had committed.'

Reputable members of the Israeli security establishment, interviewed in the film, indicate that this was a goal. The argument is that 'as long as he's the commander-in-chief and he's waging war, how dare you attack the president?'

Alex Gibney faced significant challenges in distributing 'BB Files' in the United States. He recounts an instance where NBC decided not to run a piece about the film, explicitly stating it would 'probably upset Netanyahu and that would limit our access to the prime minister.'

Gibney describes this as 'craven and bad journalistically' and 'corrupt.' He notes a general 'controversy averse' market among streamers and news organizations, making it difficult for independent voices to be heard.