In the legal struggle over the e-mail affair in Taufkirchner town hall, former mayor Jörg Pötke suffered another defeat. The Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office rejected his appeal against the decision of the Munich I Public Prosecutor’s Office. This had decided in April to stop the investigation against City Hall chief Ullrich Sander (independent) on suspicion of violating the Bavarian Data Protection Act because evidence of the crime “cannot be provided with the security required for an indictment”. The Attorney General’s Office has now confirmed that this decision corresponds to “the factual and legal situation”.
The preliminary investigation was started by a complaint by Pötkes. He accused Sander of reading private emails to council members. As evidence, the ex-town hall chief cited a notice of absence that he had received from the mayor’s account – in response to a letter to the address of a municipal councilor ending in @taufkirchen-mucl.de. The investigation by an IT company commissioned by the town hall came to the conclusion that an earlier filter rule was probably responsible for the incorrect delivery, according to which Pötke emails to town hall employees should also be blind copied to Sander – but not the letters to the addresses of the municipal council members.
The Bavarian state data protection officer, who was also involved, could not find any offense by Sander. The public prosecutor’s office also stopped their investigations, while Pötke lodged a complaint – so far unsuccessful. As a next step, he could now apply for a court decision from the Munich Higher Regional Court. The ex-mayor wrote in a statement that he would go this route, “it’s obvious.”