"NEIN" - Probing America: Top German Prosecutor Considers NSA Investigation.

"NEIN" - Probing America: Top German Prosecutor Considers NSA Investigation.(Spiegel).

Germany and the US appear to be edging closer to political confrontation. The Federal Prosecutor says there is sufficient evidence to open a politically explosive investigation into NSA spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone. 

Pres Obama said he had ordered his national security team and the intelligence community to "rebuild trust" going forward. He added, however, "Now let me be clear: Our intelligence agencies will continue to gather information about the intentions of governments … around the world."

Germans Seek Clarity.

Few view that as true peacemaking, and voices within the German government calling for a tougher approach are growing more numerous. Domestic policy experts have been openly placing their hopes on German Federal Public Prosecutor Harald Range, who has spent months looking into a possible official investigation into the NSA for spying on German soil.

Michael Hartmann, a domestic policy expert with the SPD, says he expects "clarity as soon as possible." His colleague Clemens Binninger of the CDU, recently elected as chairman of the Parliamentary Control Panel, the body in parliament responsible for supervision of the intelligence services, concluded, "It seems quite clear to me that the law was violated on German soil." He says it would be understandable if an investigation were opened.

The official line at the Public Prosecutor's Office is that it remains unclear what will become of the allegations against the NSA. The office is treating the surveillance as two separate instances. One is the allegation that the NSA spied on the data of Germans millions of times. The other is the allegation that it eavesdropped on the chancellor's mobile phone. Thus far, the Prosecutor's Office has told parliament that there isn't yet enough evidence to pursue a formal investigation.


It's a position that Hans-Christian Ströbele, a member of parliament with the Green Party who gained global headlines by visiting Edward Snowden in Moscow in late 2012, considers absurd. "They're just looking for reasons to shirk responsibility because the issue is too controversial for them," he says.

Gregor Gysi, the head of the parliamentary group of the far-left Left Party, rails against what he describes as government "yes-men" when it comes to America. "The fact that the German government and the Federal Prosecutor isn't acting shows that their fear of the US government is greater than their respect for our legal system."


However, one person is giving serious consideration to doing just the opposite: Prosecutor Range himself. He already signaled to Merkel's last government that there was sufficient evidence for him to launch an investigation into the issue of the chancellor's mobile phone.

It's an assessment he has since shared with the new leadership inside the Justice Ministry, despite some concerns within his own agency. "Who's going to spring into action like a tiger if they know they will wind up a bedside rug?" posits one source close to the proceedings. Read the full story here.