Bloomberg's scoop showing how Trump aide Steve Witkoff coached the Kremlin on the best way to get into Trump's good graces is extraordinary for what it tells us about Witkoff's dubious loyalties and the Kremlin's potential influence over US negotiation efforts. But equally interesting is the leaked material itself and where it may have come from. The story covers two intercepted phone calls:
Allegations of espionage against the Alternative for Germany (AfD) have been raised by the interior minister of the state of Thuringia. In an interview with Handelsblatt, Social Democrat (SPD) Georg Maier expressed concern that the AfD is abusing its parliamentary powers to gather information about Germany's transport infrastructure, water supply, digital infrastructure and energy supply. "With its requests, one gets the impression that the AfD is working through a list of tasks assigned by the Kremlin," Maier told the newspaper this week.