Ahead of today’s phone call between President Trump and the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Gateway Pundit reported), the German domestic spy agency has backtracked on calling the largest opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD) “confirmed far-right” and spying on it.
The Trump administration had criticized the totalitarian measures announced last Friday by the parting leftist German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on her way out the door, citing an alleged secret police report which was kept secret from the AfD but leaked to America-hating Der Spiegel magazine.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Commitee, wrote to DNI Tulsi Gabbard yesterday, urging the US government suspend co-operation with German intel agencies being used to spy on the opposition (Gateway Pundit reported).
I asked @DNIGabbard to ensure that no American intelligence agencies cooperate with German authorities involved in surveiling domestic political opponents.
These police state tactics are more suited for Russia or Communist China, not Western Europe’s largest country.…
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) May 7, 2025
“I understand that liberal elites on both sides of the Atlantic loathe the AfD, but AfD’s platform has resonated with many Germans. Unsurprisingly so, since an agenda of strong borders, energy independence, and economic growth has appealed to our own electorate and may other Western democracies. Rather than trying to undermine the AfD using the tools of authoritarian states, Germany’s incoming government might be better advised to consider why the AfD continues to gain electoral ground and how German’s government can address the reasonable concerns of its citizens,” Cotton wrote.
Due to stringent privacy laws, German intel agencies have their hands tied and largely depend on the NSA for SigInt to prevent terror attacks in their own country.
Now, facing a lawsuit by the AfD, the German “Office for the Protection of the Constitution” (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz – BfV) today announced it will rescind the decision pending legal resolution.
“The defendant will not publicly describe the AfD as ‘certified far-right’ until a court decision is made in this urgent procedure”, the BfV stated, adding the press release cited by Interior Minister Faeser “will be removed from the website of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.”
“Professionally, this is a complete surrender by the German domestic intelligence service”, free spech lawyer Joachim Steinhöfel told NIUS website.
“A lot of heads will have to roll at the agency now. If the new Interior Minister deserves credit for this step, he has done a service to democracy. Of course, we also have to thank the Americans for exerting massive pressure.”
