Germany eavesdropped on some Obama calls from Air Force One, book says

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

Germany eavesdropped on some Obama calls from Air Force One, book says

Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, intercepted some unencrypted calls around the same time the U.S. was spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel, a new book reveals.

January 5, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. EST


German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures while chatting with President Barack Obama outside the Elmau Castle during a Group of Seven summit in Germany in 2015. (Michael Kappeler/AFP/Getty Images)

By Aaron Wiener

German political leaders were incensed when they learned in 2013 that U.S. intelligence had been eavesdropping on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone calls. “Spying among friends, that just does not work,” Merkel said.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/01/05/germany-obama-eavesdropping-calls-merkel/

---

https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/aaron-wiener/

[Irish_Dem]

1. Duh. It is what the intel agencies do. Gather intel.

[Tetrachloride]

2. unencrypted? they were asking to be picked off

[betsuni]

3. Photo of Merkel singing "The Sound of Music"; then Obama leaps up and they both do "Sixteen Going on Seventeen."

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. I immediately thought of TSOM when I saw the picture. NT

[BaronChocula]

6. Or Cabaret

Willkommen

[Bayard]

5. I love the open body postures in that photo,

As opposed to trump sitting hunched over with his hands between his knees.

Ahh...good times.

[Dan]

7. God, I hope that Trump doesn't decide to teach Germany a lesson

Cause the German’s fight back!!!