The lawyer of Frankfurt’s Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) accuses the public prosecutor and the ministry.
Procrastination, delay and a lack of willingness to provide information – this is what the lawyer of Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) accuses the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office and the Hessian Ministry of the Interior. “The public prosecutor’s office leaves a preliminary judgment to the public,” says David Hofferbert, who specializes in civil service law and has represented the mayor since early 2020. “This is not a fair trial and has nothing to do with the rule of law.”
In connection with the Arbeiterwohlfahrt affair, the public prosecutor’s office is examining whether Peter Feldmann could have used his good relationships with his former employer, the Awo, to have his wife hired as daycare manager at the association on unusually good terms, including a company car. The mayor denies this.
But first things first: A year ago, Feldmann applied for a self-cleaning procedure at the Ministry of the Interior with the aim that his chief employer, Minister of the Interior Peter Beuth (CDU), acquitted him of the allegations before the local elections. In September the ministry then initiated disciplinary proceedings against Feldmann. From Hofferbert’s point of view, much too late – and then nothing happened for a long time.
“Such procedures should not actually take longer than six months,” says Hofferbert. After six months, the civil servant can have his employer set a deadline by the administrative court by when the proceedings must be completed. Feldmann’s lawyer could have done that on March 15, 2021. But because of public prosecutor’s investigations against another person in connection with the Awo affair, the disciplinary proceedings against Feldmann have been suspended. Since February 24, the public prosecutor’s office has also been investigating the mayor because of the initial suspicion of taking advantage.
“So far we have only known about an abstract suspicion,” says Hofferbert. “We do not know why the public prosecutor’s office is now assuming an initial suspicion and has changed its assessment, which was still different in December last year, that there are no indications of criminal behavior.” The public prosecutor’s office refuses to provide information or to allow access to files. “In this way, we cannot deal with the suspicion or refute it,” says Hofferbert. “I can’t really defend my client.” That is why he advised the mayor not to comment on the content of the allegations against him as long as they did not know what it was actually about. “The bad thing about this procedure is that on the one hand the reputation of the city is damaged, on the other hand a person and his family are killed without being given the opportunity to defend themselves.”
Senior Public Prosecutor Nadja Niesen rejects all allegations. “We have only just started the investigation,” she says. It is still far too early to inspect the files. “The investigation should not be jeopardized,” said Niesen. Of course, the accused or his legal counsel have the opportunity to inspect the files and express their views before the proceedings are concluded. That is the normal way of things.
The Interior Ministry also rejects the allegations. “The disciplinary procedure must be examined conscientiously and thoroughly,” said a spokesman for Minister Beuth. Regardless of the suspension of the proceedings, the disciplinary authority is in “recurring contact” with the public prosecutor. “Out of a duty of care towards the officials concerned, the Ministry of the Interior withheld public water level reports on this inspection process,” said the spokesman. “As soon as the investigation by the public prosecutor’s office has been completed, it will continue to be checked whether the mayor may have violated his duties as a civil servant.”
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