“This substantial body of evidence proves that the inquiry has been using documents from Mr Snowden and yet it has been too cowardly to permit him to testify. Germany can not take a leadership role within the EU if it’s own parliamentary processes are subservient to the wishes of a non EU state.”

Julian Assange

Today, 1 December 2016, WikiLeaks releases 90 gigabytes of information relating to the German parliamentary inquiry into the surveillance activities of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) and its cooperation with the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA).  [WikiLeaks] Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

The 2,420 documents originate from various agencies of the German government including the BND and Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) and were submitted to the inquiry last year in response to questions posed by the committee.

The committee has been trying (unsuccessfully so far) to gain access to the full selector list that the BND holds regarding who they spy on at the behest of the US. The BND is withholding this list from the inquiry on the grounds that releasing it could imperil the BND’s relationship with the NSA.

RELATED POST: Germany Constitutional Court Rejects Disclosure of NSA Spy Targets

A number of the documents show how intelligence agencies find ways to work around their own government.

Last week, on 21 November 2016, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice upheld the complaint and ruled that the committee was obliged to hear Edward Snowden in person.

However, at the next inquiry hearing three days after the ruling, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Union bloc and the Social Democrats removed Snowden’s invitation from the agenda of the inquiry and are contesting the Court’s decision.

REFERENCES

German BND-NSA Inquiry Exhibits — WikiLeaks

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WikiLeaks: German BND-NSA Inquiry Exhibits