It was only a summer ago when it was revealed, courtesy of Edward Snowden, that the NSA had been listening in to the cell phone call of German chancellor Angela Merkel. This resulted in a prompt summoning of the US ambassador to Germany for a stern talking down and… nothing else. Fast forward to this summer when over the weekend another spying incident was revealed, this time involving what according to Germany is a double agent spying for the US (it is not quite clear why the US would need even more spying when it already has virtually every form of German communications bugged and intercepted).
According to Reuters, an employee of Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency has been arrested on suspicion of spying for the United States, two lawmakers with knowledge of the affair told Reuters on Friday.
The German Federal Prosecutor’s office said in a statement that a 31-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of being a foreign spy, but it gave no further details. Investigations were continuing, it said.
The case risks further straining ties with Washington, which were damaged by revelations last year of mass surveillance of German citizens by the U.S. National Security Agency, including the monitoring of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone.
The man, who is German, has admitted passing to an American contact details about a special German parliamentary committee set up to investigate the spying revelations made by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, the politicians said.
Both lawmakers are members of the nine-person parliamentary control committee, whose meetings are confidential, and which is in charge of monitoring the work of German intelligence agencies.
The parliamentary committee investigating the NSA affair also holds some confidential meetings. The German Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had invited the U.S. ambassador to come for talks regarding the matter, and asked him to help deliver a swift explanation.
“This was a man who had no direct contact with the investigative committee … He was not a top agent,” said one of the members of parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The suspect had offered his services to the United States voluntarily, the source said.
Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said: “We don’t take the matter of spying for foreign intelligence agencies lightly.”
When asked whether Merkel had discussed the issue with President Barack Obama during a phone conversation on Thursday night, he merely said they had talked about foreign affairs. The U.S. embassy in Berlin, the State Department in Washington and the White House all declined to comment.
Ironically, Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and the broadcasters WDR and NDR first reported that the alleged spy was first detained on suspicion of contacting Russian intelligence agents. He then admitted he had worked with Americans. Well, there goes that scapegoat.
Bild newspaper said in an advance copy of an article to be published on Saturday that the man had worked for two years as a double agent and had stolen 218 confidential documents. He sold the documents, three of which related to the work of the committee in the Bundestag, for 25,000 euros ($34,100), Bild said, citing security sources.
Supposedly the buyer was the US, which probably explains the following update:
- GERMANY ASKED U.S. AMBASSADOR FOR EXPLANATION: FOREIGN MINISTRY
Truly an “unprecedented” escalation, just like last summer. Because how on earth will the US continue spying on one of its closest allies if the ambassador is asked to explain himself. Sarcasm aside, one does wonder: just what dirt does the US have on Merkel to keep the chancellor meekly quiet in her corner?
This is precisely what one of our German readers was wondering earlier, when framing the situation. His observations are as follows:
This NSA spying is really becoming completely ridiculous.
Gauck über US-Spionage: “Jetzt reicht’s auch einmal” (translated: Gauck on U.S. espionage: “That’s about enough “)
Why Merkel is sooo silent – me thinks the NSA is blackmailing her (and likely most other gov. leaders too) because of her past in the DDR.
Consequences of all this will lead to exactly this outcome:
The public will refuse to buy things made by US corporations – MS, Apple, Google, Verizon, Amazon, Ebay, …. etc etc etc etc.
We avoid already Chinese products because of their use of poisons and the low quality in general.
We will avoid American products too because America is the worst liar of all states in our generation and we have enough of their spying and stealing (of other countries gold) and pointing with fingers and meddling in foreign affairs (which is also unprecedented) – when they have the most biggest shit on themselves.
I have never been anti-American – really and I have a lot of and most of my friends over their (thanks to internet) – but this and the last administration (or in fact a few criminals behind it) has done soooo much damage to the american poeple, to the image of America all over the globe, so that it is no wonder that finally the whole world will think about them as the biggest shitplace on this planet.
I’m 58 and have seen a lot in my life – but I think Gauck is spot on: “Jetzt reicht’s auch einmal”.
And I think many Europeans think alike.
This will NOT end well for America. Unfortunately the American people will likely have to pay a very high and very painful price for haven given up their Constitutuional rights in exchange for coke, burgers, tv, porn and games.
Well, dear German friend, when it comes to such key decisions as constitutional rights vs coke, burgers, tv, porn and games, all we can say is “priorities.”
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1qBohKi Tyler Durden