German FM's office manager sacked for spying for US: press
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Berlin, Dec 3, IRNA -- The office manager of German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was sacked from his post for being an informer of the American embassy in Berlin, the press reported on Thursday.
A senior member of Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP), 41-year-old Helmut Metzner, updated the US diplomatic mission on the latest developments in last year's government coalition talks.
A FDP spokesman did acknowledge that a member of the party's federal headquarters had come forward, but would not confirm his name.
American diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks earlier this week exposed that the US embassy had planted a mole in the center-right government coalition negotiations between the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their junior partner FDP following the general elections in September 2009.
'FDP source is a young, up-and-coming party loyalist,' the leaked cable from the US embassy in Berlin said.
It was unclear whether Metzner would still face a federal criminal investigation on spying for a foreign country or endangering national security.
The spying scandal has become a major embarrassment for not only Westerwelle but also the German government which often prides itself of having such excellent relations with the US.
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