Tom Cotton, chair of the US Senate Committee on Intelligence, has called for pausing “all intelligence sharing” with German domestic intelligence agency the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bfv).
He said that was because he feared the European Union member state would spy on opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD). On May 2, the BfV designated the AfD “definitely right-wing extremist”, allowing it to secretly monitor the party and its members.
Cotton argued that US intelligence resources “could be used to target the AfD” under the intelligence sharing mechanism. He argued the US should refuse any requests from the BfV to also spy on the party.
In a letter addressed to Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of US National Intelligence, he wrote: “Under German law, this decision allows BfV to intensify surveillance on AfD through signals collection and the use of undercover informants to support a potential party ban …
“German intelligence can now eavesdrop, monitor, and infiltrate Germany’s main opposition party and its second-largest vote-getter in the recent elections,” Cotton argued in his letter of May 5.
“One would expect such police-state activities in dictatorships like Communist China and Russia, not Western Europe’s largest country,” he added.
“Rather than trying to undermine the AfD using the tools of authoritarian States, Germany’s incoming government might be better advised to consider why the AfD continues to gain electoral ground and how Germany’s Government can address the reasonable concerns of its citizens.”
The German Office for the Protection of the Constitution’s (BfV) decision to designate the right-wing AfD party as “definitely right-wing extremist” has caused a flurry of demands for action by representatives of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.…
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 5, 2025
Cotton also requested a review of whether US intelligence agencies under the previous US president Joe Biden’s administration co-operated with a German request to “surveil the AfD” or other opposition parties.
His letter followed US outrage at the BfV’s classification of the party.
“The AfD is the most popular party in Germany and by far the most representative of East Germany. Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it,” said US Vice President JD Vance.
“The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt — not by the Soviets or the Russians but by the German establishment.”
Republican US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X on May 2: “Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy — it’s tyranny in disguise.”
Berlin’s Federal Foreign Office responded to Rubio, arguing that given Germany’s history, “right-wing extremism needs to be stopped”.
“This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution and the rule of law. It is the independent courts that will have the final say,” the office added.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has repeatedly warned the US to “stay out” of the country’s politics.
AfD faces calls to be banned after German State brands party ‘extremist’ https://t.co/xoAlQ71uTD
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 5, 2025
