Ex-German Spy Chief Hanning Arrested on Treason Allegations
The Facts
- August Hanning, who led Germany's Federal Intelligence Service from December 1998 to November 2005, was arrested Tuesday on allegations of espionage, disclosing state secrets, attempted treason and intelligence agent activity.
- Hanning, 80, was detained at his home in Nordwalde near Muenster, while his former chief of staff, identified as Manfred D., was arrested in Bavaria on suspicion of aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage.
- Federal prosecutors say the two men agreed no later than spring 2010 that Manfred D. would continuously supply internal Federal Intelligence Service (BND) material to his former superior in exchange for payment. Searches were reportedly carried out in Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin.
Sources Split
LEFT
CENTER
RIGHT
+2
+2
+2
+2
ESTAB
CRIT
CENTER
PRO
ESTAB
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Sudden treason charges against a man who called out the Iraq WMD fiction and challenged open-border policy look an awful lot like payback. Suspicion is not proof, and the rush to splash "spying for Russia" across front pages tramples the presumption of innocence that every citizen is owed. A free country does not let prosecutors and tabloids convict a dissenting voice before any evidence sees daylight.
Pro-establishment narrative
Hoarding thousands of classified files for years and feeding analysis to a foreign service is a betrayal of the country, no matter how decorated the resume. The pattern is impossible to ignore: an intelligence officer caught spying, a fugitive in Moscow and now the former spy chief himself. Treating state secrets as a private business asset deserves prosecution.
