Testimony resumes in Olmert corruption case

Jerusalem: Lawyers for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday resumed cross examination of millionaire Jewish-American financier Morris Talansky.

Morris Talansky had testified in May to having given Olmert some 150,000 dollars in campaign contributions in 2006, much of it stuffed into envelopes.

The testimony caused public outrage and led Olmert's Kadima Party to schedule new leadership elections for September.

Olmert acknowledges having received campaign funds from Talansky before he became a premier, but has denied any wrongdoing.

On Thursday, the first of five days of cross-examination, Olmert's chief lawyer, Eli Zohar, tried to paint Talansky, 75, as a lying, litigious businessman with an unsavory reputation and a faulty memory.

Friday's testimony is expected to take five hours, with three more hearings planned for next week.