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Former Danish Defense Minister Facing Prison Time For Allegedly Revealing Massive US Spying Scheme

CLAUS BECH/AFP via Getty Images

Dylan Housman Deputy News Editor
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The former Defense Minister of Denmark is facing serious criminal charges for allegedly revealing an American scheme to spy on allied leaders.

Danish authorities said Tuesday the justice minister agreed to bring charges against an unnamed former lawmaker for revealing “secrets of importance to the state,” the Associated Press (AP) reported. Danish media then reported the suspect is Claus Hjort Frederiksen, a former defense minister, and Hjort Frederiksen confirmed the reports in a Facebook post.

“I have not revealed alleged state secrets. Period,” the 75-year-old who retired in 2022 posted. “This was not how I had dreamed my retirement would be.”

Prosecutor Jakob Berger Nielsen said the case would not be carried out publicly due to the sensitive nature of the information involved.

Hjort Frederiksen first alleged in 2020 that the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (DDIS) assisted America’s National Security Agency (NSA) in eavesdropping on numerous foreign leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during the Obama administration. In a 2021 interview, he said he must “risk a prison sentence” to reveal the alleged spying scheme carried out by American and Danish officials.

The DDIS reportedly helped the NSA wiretap phone lines between 2012 and 2014, using political leaders’ phone numbers as search parameters. Other countries that were allegedly surveilled include Norway, Sweden and France. (RELATED: Denmark Plans To Draft Women As War In Ukraine Intensifies)

Hjort Frederiksen, who served as defense minister from 2016 to 2019, did not run for reelection to parliament in 2022, resulting in the lapse of his parliamentary immunity. If convicted of sharing state secrets, he faces up to 12 years in prison, AP reported.