CIA ‘hired double agent’ in spy op against Germany

The Central Intelligence Agency was involved in a spying operation against Germany that led to the alleged recruitment of a German intelligence official and has prompted renewed outrage in Berlin, two US officials familiar with the matter said yesterday.

CIA director John Brennan has been asked to brief key members of the US Congress on the matter, which threatens a new rupture between Washington and a close European ally, one of the officials said. It was unclear if and when Brennan’s briefing to US lawmakers would take place. The CIA declined to comment.

The office of Germany’s Federal Prosecutor late last week issued a statement saying that a 31-year old man had been arrested on suspicion of being a foreign spy, and that investigations were continuing. The statement offered no further details.