Germany Abandons Investigation Into NSA Spying on Chancellor Merkel

After the purported eavesdropping by the NSA on German chancellor Angela Merkel's telephone commnunications, the German government opened an investigation. However, writes Bruce66423: A lack of evidence means that the investigation has now ended. Our congratulations to the NSA for covering their tracks so well. Note that it was announced on a Friday evening, which is universally recognised as the time to release the news you don't want to get attention. Also at The Guardian and the BBC; from the Guardian's version: The investigation came after Der Spiegel reported in October 2013 that the NSA had a database containing Merkel’s personal phone number. Merkel publicly expressed outrage and dispatched a team of senior German intelligence officers to Washington, supposedly to extract a ”no spy” agreement. When the row was its height, the chancellor said: “The charges are grave and have to be cleared up.” ... The White House, responding to the Der Spiegel story in 2013, said it was not spying on Merkel at present and nor would it in the future, but refused to say whether it had in the past, which was interpreted by some as an admission of guilt.

Comments

Missleading

[Anonymous Coward]

The german government did not open an investigation. It was the attorney general who finally couldn't avoid to open an "investigation". Of course they didn't do a real investigation since they don't really care. There is a still ongoing investigation by a so called "Untersuchungsausschuss" of the parlament which is hindered by the government and the fucking guys of the BND which are more loyal to the NSA then to their own country and parlament.

Re:Missleading

[NicBenjamin]

I never understood the point of the investigation. Germany does not have jurisdiction over the spy agencies of foreign countries, which means that they can't charge the NSA with a crime. That's how sovereignty works. In terms of non-criminal penalties they don't need an investigation to say "we think you did a bad thing to us, therefore we are retaliating by banning travel from this dude, withdrawing from this agreement you really wanted, and freezing negotiations on this other agreement you really want." That is also how sovereignty works.

It seemed mostly a way for Merkel to tell people she was doing something about the NSA so they'd shut up and stop arguing for effective action.

Lack of evidence?

[Anonymous Coward]

A lack of evidence means that the investigation has now ended. Our congratulations to the NSA for covering their tracks so well.

"The NSA covered its tracks too well" is one theory.

Another theory is that maybe the investigation learned that Germany's own intelligence services were complicit in the "NSA" spying,, possible to the extent that they participated in the operation against their own Chancellor, and they shut the investigation down to save face.

I have, of course, no evidence that this in fact was the case, but it's hardly implausible.

P.S. God bless the NSA for making pretty much any nutty theory "hardly implausible."

Other fish to fry

[cold fjord]

Angela Merkel's phone was being listened in on by FIVE foreign powers

If your spooks aren't tapping Merkel, you should fire them really

Bigfoot Sights UFO.

[westlake]

However, writes Bruce66423: "A lack of evidence means that the investigation has now ended. Our congratulations to the NSA for covering their tracks so well."

I am old-school enough to prefer fact-based news to snark and innuendo. Tell me what you can prove, not what you think I want to hear.