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Hacked emails yield revelations on Germany's far-right AfD party leader
Reuters • • world
Key Points:
- Emails from hacked Alternative for Germany (AfD) accounts suggest party leader Alice Weidel knew about illegal campaign donations linked to her 2017 federal election campaign earlier than previously stated.
- Weidel reportedly informed the party treasurer in July 2017 about the donations, contradicting her claim of first learning about them in September 2017 and later advocating for their return.
- The donations, totaling €132,000 via Swiss intermediaries, led to a €396,000 fine for the AfD, as German law prohibits party funding from outside the EU.
- The AfD has declined to confirm the authenticity of the leaked emails and urged the media to avoid spreading information tied to data theft, while hackers claim their release aims to promote transparency.
- The leaked data may intensify calls to ban the AfD, accused by some of threatening Germany’s democratic order, though the party denies these claims and Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has not commented on potential investigations.
