BERLIN (AP) — German authorities are investigating a second spy case reportedly involving the U.S.
Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that police raided properties in the Berlin area on “initial suspicion of activity for an intelligence agency.”
Daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported the man 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 already strained by reports last year that the National Security Agency spied on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone.
Ms. Merkel said that if the double agent case proves true, it would be “a clear contradiction as to what I consider to be trusting cooperation between agencies and partners.”
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Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told German media that “it would be most disturbing if the spying merrily continued while we’re looking at the NSA wiretapping activities and have set up a committee in parliament.”
Spiegel Online, a news website, said CIA chief John Brennan called Ms. Merkel’s office late Tuesday night to discuss the case with her intelligence services coordinator, Klaus-Dieter Fritsche, after other German politicians expressed their concerns over the lastest allegations.
The U.S. ambassador to Berlin, John B. Emerson, also made a visit to the German Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. His second visit since last Friday.
Washington Times reporter Kellan Howell contributed to this report.
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