GERMANY: Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich does not rule out expelling U.S. diplomats over Merkel phone taping row

Record ID: 542693

  • Title: GERMANY: Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich does not rule out expelling U.S. diplomats over Merkel phone taping row
  • Date: 28th October 2013
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (OCTOBER 28, 2013) (REUTERS) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER HANS-PETER FRIEDRICH LEAVING N24 TV STUDIO (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, HANS-PETER FRIEDRICH, SAYING: "We will first of all of course try to clarify the entire situation, especially how the spying occurred and what happened technically. The question also arose whether it came from the
  • Embargoed: 12th November 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Crime,General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8NYPZQIWHP0L2I4X6DDCTRVZL
  • Story Text: One day after a German newspaper said U.S. President Barack Obama knew his intelligence service was eavesdropping on Angela Merkel as long ago as 2010, German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich did not rule out expelling U.S. diplomats over the incident.
    "We will first of all of course try to clarify the entire situation, especially how the spying occurred and what happened technically. The question also arose whether it came from the (U.S.) embassy," said Friedrich in Berlin on Monday (October 28).
    "If we find culprits and if we can identify them, they must live with the legal consequences and if they are diplomats, they must leave the country," he added.
    Germany received information last week that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had bugged Merkel's mobile phone, prompting Berlin to summon the U.S. ambassador, a move unprecedented in post-war relations between the close allies.
    The NSA denied that Obama had been informed about the operation by the NSA chief in 2010, as reported by the German newspaper. But the agency did not comment directly on whether Obama knew about the bugging of Merkel's phone.
    Friedrich said "already in July I said during my talks in Washington that it would be absolutely unbearable for us if German law was broken on German ground."
    "Now it turns out this was the case. Evidently the chancellor (Angela Merkel) was spied on which violates German law. That is unacceptable."
    Citing a source in Merkel's office, some German media have reported that Obama had apologised to Merkel when she called him last Wednesday, and told her that he would have stopped the bugging happening had he known about it.
    But Bild am Sonntag, citing a "U.S. intelligence worker involved in the NSA operation against Merkel", said NSA chief General Keith Alexander informed Obama in person about it in 2010.
    The NSA said, however, that Alexander had never discussed any intelligence operations involving Merkel with Obama.
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