The US espioned European politicians through cooperation with Denmark / Article

From 2012 to 2014, the United States espioned several high-ranking European politicians, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, through cooperation with Denmark. This is evidenced by an investigation conducted by several media outlets. Secret service sources have provided information to a team of journalists from Danish, Swedish and Norwegian broadcasters, as well as to the French and German media.

The US National Security Agency (NSA) has used its intelligence cooperation with the Danish Military Intelligence Service (FE). The NSA has intercepted Danish Internet cable information to spy on leading politicians, including senior officials from Germany, Sweden, Norway and France.

Information that the United States had spied on its allies first appeared in 2013, but only now have journalists found evidence of this.

Danish Defense Minister Trine Bramsen was informed about the espionage in August 2020.

“Systematic espionage of close allies is unacceptable,” the minister said.

It is unclear whether Denmark has allowed the United States to use its surveillance system to spy on its neighbors.

Among the espioned German officials are not only Merkel, but also the then German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the leader of the opposition Social Democrats Per Steinbrik, who stated that the discoveries are considered a “scandal”. Merkel and Steinmeier knew nothing about these actions.

The NSA had access to cell phone text messages, phone calls, and Internet traffic, as well as search activity, chat rooms, and messaging.

The espionage is detailed in a secret, internal report of the FE Working Group entitled “Operation Dunhammer” and submitted to the FE leadership in May 2015.

According to Danish Radio, the information came from nine different sources that had access to classified FE information. Testimony from these sources has been independently confirmed by several other sources.

These processes coincided with, and since, the ambitious U.S. espionage programs announced in 2013 by former NSA associate Edward Snowouden.

In November 2020, DR reported that the United States had used Danish cables to spy on the Danish and European defense industries from 2012 to 2015.

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