Merkel's Mobile: Germany Launches Investigation into NSA Spying

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-expected-to-open-investigation-into-nsa-spying-on-merkel-a-973326.html



After extensive review, Germany's federal prosecutor has announced he is launching formal investigative proceedings into allegations that the NSA monitored Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone. The claims have burdened trans-Atlantic relations for months.

Merkel's Mobile: Germany Launches Investigation into NSA Spying
By Hubert Gude, Jörg Schindler and Fidelius Schmid
June 04, 2014 – 01:28 PM

Following widespread speculation that the move was imminent, German Federal Prosecutor Harald Range on Wednesday announced he is launching a formal investigation into allegations that the NSA spied on Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile telephone communications.

SPIEGEL had reported on Monday that the federal prosecutor was close to opening formal proceedings. On Wednesday, Range informed the Legal Committee of the Bundestag, Germany's federal parliament, of the pending investigation.

The move marks the next significant chapter in the spying scandal surrounding America's signals intelligence authority, the National Security Agency. It is also the first formal act taken by a German government agency in response to the revelations made public by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. The probe could further exacerbate trans-Atlantic relations that have been deeply burdened by the scandal.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe opened two "monitoring processes" last year to review the allegations. The first focused on the mass spying of Germans' data by the NSA and the second targeted allegations -- first reported by SPIEGEL in October -- that Merkel's mobile phone had been tapped.