“Taurus” consultations: What follows after the possible betrayal of secrets?

Information from secret “Taurus” deliberations of the Defense Committee has become public. Now an investigation is underway for betrayal of secrets. Cases of this kind are increasing.

The accusation is betrayal of secrets. Information from the secret part of a special meeting of the Defense Committee on the possible delivery of “Taurus” cruise missiles to Ukraine is said to have been passed on to the t-online portal. The content was about technical details about the target data planning of the missiles.

The chairwoman of the committee, FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, sent a letter about this on Friday. Addressee of the letter: President of the Bundestag Bärbel Bas. The SPD politician will now officially grant authorization so that the alleged betrayal of secrets can be cleared up. The Bundestag administration informed him of this ARD capital studio upon request.

The fact that the Bundestag police and the public prosecutor’s office are prosecuting for betrayal of secrets is nothing new for the Defense Committee. However, the cases have increased in this legislative period, says experienced SPD defense politician Wolfgang Hellmich.

He’s talking about about nine to 10 cases this legislative session, compared to about three cases in the previous one. However, it is unlikely that prosecutors will find the culprit. Hellmich’s experience was: “Nothing ever came of it.”

It will also be difficult because it is now known that 105 people took part in the Defense Committee meeting last Monday. In addition to members of parliament and their staff, these included numerous representatives of the federal government and state representatives. From Wolfgang Hellmich’s point of view, the sheer number of people who were in the room made it difficult to even find the traitor.

Safety precautions have been of no use

There are several security measures in place for “secret” meetings. According to Hellmich, laptops, watches and cell phones must be handed in and locked up during instruction. In addition, transcripts are prohibited. And employees with access to the Defense Committee must undergo security clearance.

There are basically three stages. The so-called extended level 2 security clearance (“Ü2”) applies to the Defense Committee. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is responsible.

“Secret” classification as a means of pressure for the government

The Bundeswehr is a parliamentary army. This means that MPs must approve operations and be informed accordingly by the Ministry of Defense. However, even in meetings classified as “secret,” things are regularly said that are not necessarily secret but are also publicly available.

In the specific “Taurus” case, many technical details about mission planning have long been publicly available on the Internet. Not everything that Inspector General Carsten Breuer said about the technical and operational procedures for programming the “Taurus” was probably new and therefore top secret.

However, if a meeting of the Defense Committee is classified as “secret”, the opposition’s hands are tied. The more supposedly “secret” information is “betrayed” by the government, the less MPs can report about it in public.

The “Taurus” discussion continues

Chancellor Olaf Scholz also called for clarification at the weekend. “Betrayal of secrets is something that must not take place,” he said on Saturday, referring to the Defense Committee.

However, Scholz himself did not hold back with serious hints when he justified his rejection of a “Taurus” delivery to Ukraine. People in Great Britain were not particularly pleased when the Chancellor said three weeks ago: “Germany cannot do what the British and French do in terms of target guidance and target support.”

The Chancellor had quite bluntly indicated that Paris and London had troops stationed in the war zone. Although there has been speculation about this for a long time, there was still talk in Great Britain that Scholz had misused intelligence information to justify his “Taurus” rejection.

Despite the investigations and the “secret” information in the Defense Committee, the political “Taurus” debate continues happily in Berlin. The CDU and CSU, as well as the Greens and Liberals, are still not convinced by the government’s arguments so far. And the FDP parliamentary group now wants to seek direct talks with the Chancellor. However, he is likely to continue to say no to “Taurus” deliveries to Ukraine.