From security guard to spy - out of frustration with Trump?
Nathan L., 28 years old, a highly security-certified cyber security expert with the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), wanted to switch sides. And not to Russia, China or North Korea - but to Germany. In an email, he offered "highly confidential information" and wrote that he was "deeply concerned" about the Trump administration. He no longer believed in the values that the USA supposedly stood for. His proposal: treason in exchange for citizenship.
The target of his e-mail: According to information from WDR, NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung - the Federal Intelligence Service (BND). But the German foreign intelligence service waved it off - and apparently passed the information on to the US authorities. For L., this meant handcuffs instead of Germany.
How the mole fell into the trap
What sounds like a spy thriller was actually a lesson in digital stupidity in the age of total surveillance. Although L. sent his email from an anonymous account, he used the same IP address as his home computer. On top of that, he uploaded a photo of his employee ID card - without his name and face, but apparently still identifiable.
The US investigators didn't take long. The FBI posed as an alleged BND employee and led the disappointed agent on a leash through the digital thicket: encrypted chats, disguised meetings, a "dead letter box" in a park. There, L. finally deposited a drive with nine documents classified as "top secret". In return, he asked for German citizenship.
The attempt to smuggle secret documents in socks and lunch boxes seems almost comical - if the background wasn't so serious.
And Germany? Says little - but acts
Officially, the BND remains silent, as always. "No statement on intelligence operations," is the word from Pullach. Did L. really knock on the BND's door? No comment. But the fact that the US investigators became active a few days after his email speaks volumes.
One thing is clear: the case is not only controversial because a US agent sympathizes with Germany of all countries. It is also because German authorities have apparently used the opportunity to regain the trust of the Americans - after an already tense relationship under the Trump administration.
A cold wind in the world of espionage
The case highlights a political dilemma: the USA is and remains Germany's most important partner in NATO - including when it comes to intelligence information. 76% of all surveillance data in NATO came from the USA in 2023, while Germany supplied just 1%. Nothing works without the Americans - especially when it comes to counter-terrorism.
But trust is fragile. Republican hardliners such as Tom Cotton are already calling for Germany to stop transferring sensitive data - precisely because of the surveillance of the AfD. The suspicion: too left-wing, too soft, too critical of the USA. In this climate, the L. case could further strain the relationship - or be seen as a sign of German loyalty.
Politically clever and legally clean
If the BND really did come clean to the Americans, it was the right thing to do. Because anyone who accepts highly confidential information from a foreign state quickly makes themselves liable to prosecution - even if it is well-intentioned.
That someone wants to defect to Germany because their own government seems too extreme? That is a sign. It is a sign of how fragile trust becomes even in the most secure apparatuses when politicians work against their own basic values.
Treason remains treason - but those who are prepared to risk their lives to belong to "a better country" should at least make us think about the image we present to the world. And what responsibility a secret service has when the world is no longer just black or white.
