[Palindrome] Wikileaks: The German Secret Service infiltration of Focus Magazine

["Julian Assange." <julian sunshinepress org>]

   The 11 missing pages from Germany's infamous 2006 Shaefer report

   DANIEL SCHMIDT (German correspondent) & JULIAN ASSANGE (investigative
   editor)

   Monday August 10, 2008

   http://wikileaks.org/wiki/S7

   Wikileaks has released the full Schaefer report into illegal state 
spying
   on the German press. The 2006 report, compiled by former federal judge
   Professor Schaefer, investigated spying on journalists by Germany's 
secret
   intelligence service, the BND or Bundesnachrichtendienst. The previously
   missing pages contain detailed descriptions about extensive BND handling
   of Focus magazine journalist Josef Hufelschulte, code name 'Jerez'.

   The BND is forbidden under German law to engage in domestic spying. But 
as
   stated by Hufelschulte's BND handler, contact was initially established 
to
   influence domestic media coverage of the BND and general intelligence
   activities. Hufelschulte, was therefore a similar target for the BND as
   Der Spiegel's Mascolo, who is also frequently mentioned in the document.
   As a secondary goal Hufelschulte was used to glean information about the
   identify of sources within the BND who had been leaking to Hufelschulte
   and other journalists. Many meeting notes between the BND and
   Hufelschulte' related to attempting to find the sources of articles
   appearing in Der Spiegel.

   Hufelschulte also had extensive exchange with the BND on various
   contemporary topics in the time-frame of his possibly unwitting
   collaboration, including the affair around ministerial president Uwe
   Barschel, IRA activity in Lebanon, meetings of PDS politicians Gregor 
Gysi
   and Andrea Lederer with "leading members of the Lybian secret service" 
as
   well as conversations relating to plutonium smuggling.

   According to a table published in the excerpt, Hufelschulte had 58
   meetings with BND representatives during the time of his contact with 
BND
   superintendent Volker Foertsch. The notes taken about these meetings are
   summarized in the report and clearly indicate that Hufelschulte had
   published reports provided by the BND intended to produce favorable
   coverage.

   The document in general shows the extent of which collaboration of
   journalists with intelligence agencies has become common and to what
   dimensions consent is manufactured in the interests of those involved.

   The official committee of investigation into the BND re-sits today after
   returning from its summer break.