German government declines comment on report Merkel has decided top spy must go

FAN Editor
President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution Maassen arrives for a meeting of the parliamentary committee that oversees German intelligence agencies, in Berlin
Hans-Georg Maassen, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution arrives for a meeting of the parliamentary committee that oversees German intelligence agencies, in Berlin, Germany, September 12, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

September 17, 2018

BERLIN (Reuters) – The German government on Monday declined to comment on a report by newspaper Die Welt that Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided the domestic intelligence agency chief must go because she thinks he has meddled in day-to-day politics.

Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the BfV domestic intelligence agency, has come under fire after he cast doubt on the authenticity of video footage showing far-right protesters chasing migrants after the fatal stabbing of a German man.

The partners in Merkel’s ruling coalition are due to meet on Tuesday to discuss Maassen’s future. Merkel had said on Friday that her coalition government would survive the row over Maassen.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Paul Carrel)

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Merkel has decided German spy chief must go – report

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Hans-Georg Maassen, the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s domestic security agency in Cologne, Germany October 31, 2014. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo September 17, 2018 BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided that Germany’s domestic intelligence agency […]