Wikileaks is at it again. The website has just released two highly classified National Security Agency documents. The new leaks which are dubbed 'The Euro Intercepts' detail the United States and Britain's espionage activities conducted against German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her top government ministers.
Deutsche Welle is reporting that the targets of the surveillance were economic in nature with key members from the ministries of economics, agriculture, and finance being the primary objectives. The documents reveal that phone surveillance against these government officials may have been going on as far back as the 90's.
The content of the documents making the biggest noise so far has been an intercepted conversation regarding the Greek financial crisis between Merkel and an unidentified assistant.
Wikileaks summary of the talk notes:
"In the intercepted talk between Chancellor Merkel and her assistant, the Chancellor talks about her views on solutions to the Greek financial crisis and her disagreement with members of her own Cabinet, such as Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble, on matters of policy. She also discusses the positions of French leaders, and of the heads of the key institutions of the Troika: European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and IMF Director Christine Lagarde. In the conversation Merkel also stressses the urgency of enacting the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) and of putting pressure on the US and British governments to bring it about. The FTT was first introduced in September 2011 by EU Commission President Jose Barroso. It has been strongly opposed by major banks and, within the EU, by the governments of Britain and Sweden. The Top Secret NSA interception report was shared with British intelligence."
Tech blog Ars Technica notes that timing of the leak is rather coincidental as it comes on the heels of Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsiparas' decision to accept a deal with creditors to avoid a total collapse of the Greek banking system.
This is Wikileaks' second big scoop on US Surveillance in recent days. Last week the site released reports detailing the NSA's surveillance activites against French President Francois Hollande and previous administrations.
