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Merkel Says Friends Don’t Spy on Friends

Expresses anger at possibility U.S. monitored her communications

by
Stephanie Butnick
October 24, 2013
German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks to the press on October 24, 2013 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. (GEORGES GOBET/AFP/Getty Images)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks to the press on October 24, 2013 at the EU headquarters in Brussels. (GEORGES GOBET/AFP/Getty Images)

“Spying among friends is never acceptable,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a press conference today, referring to information obtained by the German government that suggests the U.S. may have monitored Merkel’s mobile phone.

“There needs to be trust between the U.S. and European nations,” Merkel added, reiterating her extreme disapproval of the NSA’s widespread spying tactics, which she’s been voicing since earlier this summer.

In response to the allegations, which surfaced this week, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. “is not monitoring and will not monitor” Merkel’s communication. Merkel, who according to a spokesperson “unequivocally disapproves of such practices and sees them as completely unacceptable,” called President Obama directly yesterday (insert “but he’s already listening” joke here) to get some answers. The White House, it seems, is sticking by their story that they are not currently and will not be monitoring Merkel in the future.

Here’s the press conference, in which the usually no-nonsense Merkel appears visibly upset:

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.