{"id":16061,"date":"2026-01-11T12:11:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T12:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/?p=16061"},"modified":"2026-01-11T12:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T12:11:06","slug":"germanys-bnd-wiretapped-barack-obama-for-years-without-merkels-approval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/?p=16061","title":{"rendered":"Germany\u2019s BND wiretapped Barack Obama for years without Merkel\u2019s approval"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An investigation by Die Zeit<\/em> revealed that Germany\u2019s foreign intelligence service (BND) secretly monitored former U.S. President Barack Obama\u2019s phone calls for years, including communications aboard Air Force One. The surveillance, which exploited technical weaknesses, was carried out without the knowledge or approval of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel and ended in 2014 after related spying revelations surfaced. The operation was politically sensitive, as it targeted a close ally and fell outside the BND\u2019s official mandate.<\/p>\n

Separately, the Obama Foundation announced it is hiring more than 150 full-time employees ahead of the Obama Presidential Center\u2019s opening this summer in Chicago. The roles include facility management, security, and guest services, with an emphasis on hiring local residents. Applications are open until January 31.<\/p>\n

Obama has also urged House Democrats to focus on winning back the House in the 2026 midterm elections rather than internal ideological divisions. Speaking to Democratic lawmakers, he emphasized unity, messaging on affordability and health care, and prioritizing electoral success before resolving party differences.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Barack and Michelle Obama sparked widespread nostalgia after sharing a Christmas photo and holiday message on social media. Fans praised their warmth, style, and composure, with many expressing a longing for what they view as a more dignified era of leadership. Michelle Obama\u2019s fashion drew particular attention, while comments calling to \u201cbring class back to the White House\u201d reflected broader political nostalgia amid today\u2019s polarized climate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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An investigation by Die Zeit revealed that Germany\u2019s foreign intelligence service (BND) secretly monitored former U.S. President Barack Obama\u2019s phone calls for years, including communications aboard Air Force One. The surveillance, which exploited technical weaknesses, was carried out without the knowledge or approval of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel and ended in 2014 after related spying revelations…<\/p>\n

Read More “Germany\u2019s BND wiretapped Barack Obama for years without Merkel\u2019s approval”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16063,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16061\/revisions\/16063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}