WikiLeaks Document Shows NSA Eavesdropped On French Presidents

Documents published by WikiLeaks recently showed that the National Security Agency of the United States spied on the last three presidents of France. No confirmations were made on the accuracy of the documents, which were released with the help of left-leaning French newspaper, Libération, and Mediapart, an investigative website.

Kristinn Hrafnsson, spokesman for WikiLeaks, revealed that he is confident about the authenticity of the documents, and added that previous disclosures of the non-profit organization were proven to be accurate.

Senior spokeswoman for French president François Hollande, Claudine Ripert-Landler, said the president is set to convene the Defense Council to assess the information released into media and make appropriate conclusions. The council is expected to convene on the morning of Wednesday. The council is similar to the National Security Council of the United States. No statements were released by former French president Jacques Chirac and the White House.

An unidentified aide to Nicolas Sarkozy said the former president thinks the methods were generally objectionable, especially since it was done by an ally.

WikiLeaks Release Documents On NSA Spying - image credit: bloomberg.com

Following the leak of documents showing that the agency eavesdropped on the mobile phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel by Edward Snowden in 2013, there were suspicions that the United States was also eavesdropping on other allied leaders. However, the latest leak may result to a diplomatic embarrassment for the United Sates if it is proven to be true.

Mr. Hollande said he talked with President Barack Obama about his concerns on NSA surveillance last year when he visited the United States. The two leaders were able to patch up their differences. Following the disclosure about Merkel, President Obama ordered the NSA surveillance of its allies to be reviewed. This came after official hinted that White House official never gave their approval for a number of these operations. Following the review, surveillance on allied leaders was stopped.

WikiLeaks listed on its website the contents of five communication intercepts involving French presidents, from 2006 to 2012. The communications involved a UN appointment, the peace process in the Middle East, and management of the euro crisis.

The report also showed telephone numbers that were considered by the NSA as top intercept targets, including the mobile phone of the French president, which had some digits covered. While Mr. Hrafnsson did not say how the documents were obtained and did not reveal other details that may appear on media, he sad additional information may be released in the future.

The WikiLeaks report comes before a bill legalizing an expanded surveillance on terrorism suspects was expected to be passed by the French Parliament. While protests were made by privacy advocates, the government said it was just an update on a 1991 law to allow the government to deal with existing threats, and it is trying to dissociate itself from the mass surveillance implemented by the United States.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday June 24 2015, 10:32 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0