It just hasn't been a good week for the CIA. A year after Edward Snowden revealed that the US was bugging Angela Merkel's cell phone, first one then, moments ago, Suddeutsche Zeitung revealed that a second "spy case" involving the US (read CIA) have been revealed. According to SZ, an unidentified man working in military-related area likely to be questioned today over suspicion of spying for a U.S. intelligence service in Germany. The home and office of the suspect were being searched in Berlin area. SZ adds that the case is more serious than unrelated allegations against double agent at BND Federal Intelligence Service that emerged last week. In the meantime, the US ambassador to Germany went to the foreign ministry for a "talk" - perhaps it is to remind the local just how extensive Angela Merkel's DDR file is, and just what would be revealed about her proximity to the Kremlin if push came to shove. [8]
More from AP [9]:
German authorities are investigating a second spy case reportedly involving the U.S., a week after the arrest of a German intelligence employee cast a new shadow over relations between the two countries. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that police raided properties in the Berlin area on "initial suspicion of activity for an intelligence agency." They did not elaborate or specify what intelligence agency was involved, but said they had not made an arrest.
The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, without naming sources, that the man being investigated worked in "the military field" and is suspected of spying for the United States.
A 31-year-old German intelligence employee was arrested last week on suspicion of spying for foreign powers since 2012. German media have reported he spied for the United States and offered his services to Russia.
The case has frayed relations between Berlin and Washington, which were already strained by reports last year that the National Security Agency spied on Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone. The U.S. ambassador to Berlin was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Friday after news of that case broke. He was asked to help clarify the case.
Ambassador John B. Emerson was at the ministry again on Wednesday for a meeting with a senior official, said a German official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the case publicly. It wasn't immediately clear whether Emerson was summoned and whether the discussion involved the new case.
Curiously, while Merkel had much to say about the historic Germany trouncing of Brazil in the world cup, she had no comment on either of the spy cases. One wonders just how much dirt on the German chancellor the NSA has. Here's a hint: "New Biography Causes Stir: How Close Was Merkel to the Communist System?" [8] Then again, considering the public fury over US spying, maybe the recent two "unmolings" are an indication that just as the US prepares to punish Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank, Germany will no longer stand idly by and allow its "closest ally" to dictate its fate much longer.
[10]
