Hans-Georg Maassen

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Hans-Georg Maaßen (2012)

Hans-Georg Maaßen (born November 24, 1962 in Mönchengladbach ) is a German lawyer and political official ( CDU ). From August 2012 until his temporary retirement in November 2018, he was President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).

Life

Hans-Georg Maassen was founded in 1962 in Mönchengladbach District Rheindahlen born and graduated in 1982 High School at the School Rheindahlen . He studied law in Cologne and Bonn on a scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation . In 1978 he joined the CDU . In 1997 he completed his doctorate at the University of Cologne under Hartmut Schiedermair with his thesis The legal position of the asylum seeker in international law . On a trip to Japan he met his future wife.

From 2001 to 2016 Maaßen was a lecturer in the law department of the Free University of Berlin . He is the author of publications on immigration law and internal security law. From 2006 he taught at the European Center for Comparative Government and Public Policy in the degree program in European Studies seminars on European immigration and asylum law. Maaßen was editor of the magazine for immigration law and immigration policy (ZAR). In the winter semester 2006/2007 he gave guest lectures at the University of Tsukuba in Tokyo .

Maaßen is a member of the Union of Values , an association of conservative CDU members.

In the Federal Ministry of the Interior

From 1991 he worked in the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In 2001 he became head of the project group "immigration" and explained as such under German Interior Minister Otto Schily (SPD) in the fall of 2002 on whether the the US prison camp Guantanamo detained Murat Kurnaz was retrieve to Germany or whether they should refuse his entry. Maaßen took the view that Kurnaz's unlimited right of residence in Germany had lapsed because he had been out of the country for more than six months and had not reported to the competent authorities. Kurnaz was held in Guantánamo from January 2002 to August 2006 without charge.

Maassen's conclusions were confirmed in 2004 by the then Interior Senator of Bremen, Thomas Röwekamp (CDU). In November 2005, however, the administrative court of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen ruled that Kurnaz had not forfeited his permanent residence permit because he had not "left" and that a contrary decision by the Bremen City Office, in which Maaßen was not involved, had to be revoked. In 2007, Maaßen had to explain his opinion to the BND committee of inquiry of the German Bundestag and was sharply criticized by members of the committee and in the press.

In 2003 Maaßen became head of the Aliens Law Department. As of August 2008, he headed the Federal Ministry of the Interior as a Councilor and Deputy Director of the Counter-Terrorism in the Department of Public Safety. In the first Bundestag NSU Investigation Committee Maaßen represented the federal government .

President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

On July 18, 2012, the Federal Cabinet decided that Maaßen should take over the office of President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution on August 1, 2012 as the successor to Heinz Fromm , and thus voted in favor of the proposal by Federal Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich ( CSU ). Friedrich had informed the representatives of the parliamentary groups on July 16, 2012 about the personnel. Maassen's appointment was criticized from various quarters mainly because of his position against the granting of a re-entry to Germany for Murat Kurnaz from Bremen and his lack of remorse. Regardless of this, Maaßen was appointed President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution by Friedrich on August 1, 2012 and was appointed to his post in Cologne on August 10, 2012. Maassen declared that he wanted to restore the public's lost trust in the protection of the constitution. On November 15, 2012, the Joint Extremism and Terrorism Defense Center (GETZ) was inaugurated by Friedrich in Maassen's presence in Cologne .

After considerable controversy, including in the government coalition and controversial statements (see below), Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer asked the Federal President at the beginning of November 2018 to put Maassen into temporary retirement with immediate effect .

Activity for media law firm

On October 1, 2019, Maaßen began working as an of counsel in the managing board of the media law firm of the lawyer and former press spokesman for the union of values, Ralf Höcker . According to the law firm, Maassen does not, at his own request, deal with mandates from the Greens, the Left, the AfD or those that are monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

Criticism and controversy

PhD thesis (2000)

The constitutional judge and legal scholar Gertrude Lübbe-Wolff discussed Maassen's doctoral thesis The Legal Status of Asylum Seekers in International Law for four pages in the specialist journal Archive of Public Law . Lübbe-Wolff attested to Maaßen's linguistic clarity and a clear structure, but assumed a one-sided argumentation and a selective selection of his sources: “The author only sees himself challenged to a thorough analysis of the existing jurisprudence if it [...] is not or at least not is partly not on his line. ”The aim of the work is to provide evidence of unexploited leeway for a more restrictive refugee policy, whereby Maassen shows“ generally little sense for procedural matters ”.

Rejected honorary professorship (2012)

In 2012, the Faculty of Law at the Free University of Berlin applied for Maaßen to be awarded an honorary professorship . Their Academic Senate rejected the application shortly before Maassen was appointed President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The decisive factor here was the Murat Kurnaz affair , in which Maaßen spoke out against the validity of his residence permit. The former Federal Minister of Justice Herta Däubler-Gmelin ( SPD ) - herself an honorary professor at the FU - described Maassen's statement as "false, outrageous and inhuman" , according to taz . Maassen's employer at the time, Federal Interior Minister Otto Schily (SPD), took him under protection: “At that time, Maassen gave legal advice as head of the department. I made the political decisions. He is a loyal official. Should he have said: My minister screwed up? Anyone who criticizes his statement should criticize me. ”The law professor Ulrich Battis considered the political decision to be dubious and politically“ completely wrong ”. Maaßen stated that the title was "pissed off" for him and continued to defend his stance.

Use of NSA espionage technology

Excerpt from an NSA presentation about XKeyscore and the collaboration with BfV
In Germany, from 2007 to 2013 the main tasks of the NSA were Strategic Mission J ( industrial espionage ) and Strategic Mission K (monitoring of political leaders)

In the wake of the NSA affair , the Süddeutsche Zeitung published an article on September 13, 2013, according to which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution , headed by Maaßen, regularly provided and with confidential data to the National Security Agency (NSA), the largest foreign intelligence service in the United States eight other US services collaborated. In return, the BfV received connection data. In August 2015, Die Zeit published the full text of the contract with which the BfV and the BND bought the NSA spy software XKeyscore in April 2013. The files say:

“After the news magazine Der Spiegel announced that German news services would use XKeyscore on July 21, 2013, Dr. Measured the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that XKeyscore would be tested by the BfV. "

The Süddeutsche Zeitung continues:

“Should the secret service use the program in regular operation, the BfV has committed itself to share all findings with the NSA. Maaßen had assured the NSA of this. "

In February 2016 it became known that the NSA monitoring tool XKeyscore is being used at the BND without an IT security concept and at the BfV in real operation . The head of the XKeyscore project group at the BfV said before the NSA committee of inquiry : "We do not know what the thing does when it is connected to the Internet". Netzpolitik.org quotes Maaßen: “Should go into operation, have it checked for security. Do n't know the source code . "

Criminal charges against Netzpolitik.org (2015)

In July 2015, Maaßen initiated investigations against two bloggers from netzpolitik.org named in the advertisements on suspicion of treason - initiated by Attorney General Harald Range . As a result of the angry reaction of the media, Maaßen stated that he had expressly not used the ads, which were perceived by many as an attack on freedom of the press, against the bloggers. However, the files of the treason proceedings show that Maaßen should have known that the proceedings were directed against journalists. Maaßen stated that the aim of the advertisements was to find previously unknown " moles " who had passed the BfV's budget plan, which was classified as confidential, to the bloggers. From the budget plan it emerged that 2.75 million euros were available for setting up a new authority unit for “ mass data collection ”, for example in social networks. The official report prepared by Maaßen on request for the Federal Public Prosecutor, on the basis of which he classified the case as a possible treason and initiated the investigation to interrupt the limitation period, was declared secret. As a result, several politicians - including Renate Künast , Bernd Riexinger and Christian Lindner - demanded the resignation or dismissal of Maassen. He has a "disturbed relationship to the basic democratic principles," said Künast.

Maassen filed another criminal complaint based on a media report on the confidential report by the special investigator Jerzy Montag, appointed by the Parliamentary Control Committee , on the death of the undercover agent with the code name " Corelli ", who was deployed in the vicinity of the right-wing terrorist group NSU . Here, too, the aim was to find the informants . The Federal Public Prosecutor has not yet adopted this procedure.

Speculations About Edward Snowden (2016)

Maaßen met with public criticism when he denounced whistleblower Edward Snowden as a traitor. Before the NSA investigative committee , Maaßen speculated in 2016 that Snowden could be an agent of the Russian secret services, which even high-ranking American secret service officials do not claim. Snowden acknowledged this unproven theory with the tweet written in German : "Whether Maaßen is an agent of the SVR or FSB cannot currently be proven." Maaßen continues to Snowden:

“He has driven a wedge between the US and allies, especially the US and Germany. Only in Germany do we have such a big discussion. That is anti-American. "

Statements about an informant in the environment of the Islamist Amri

Although an undercover agent from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution was placed at the Memorial Church in the vicinity of the Islamist assassin Anis Amri before the attack on the Berlin Christmas market, Maassen claimed the opposite in his response to a parliamentary question in this regard from January 2017. In September 2018 it became public that at the beginning of 2017 Maaßen had letters sent to various press organs via a law firm with requests for corrections in order to suppress reporting on intelligence agencies in Amris. According to Tagesspiegel , the Interior Committee of the Bundestag therefore decided to summon Maaßen to the meeting on September 26, 2018, also because of his AfD contacts. In his testimony to the investigative committee of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament, Maaßen stated on October 29, 2018 that although his office had a V-man in the mosque that Amri visited occasionally, he did not observe Amri and did not recognize him in photos.

Talks with AfD politicians

In the summer of 2018, the former AfD member Franziska Schreiber claimed in a book that Maaßen had given these tips at several meetings with AfD boss Frauke Petry in 2015 on how the AfD could avoid being monitored by the protection of the constitution. The author confirmed the allegations at a press conference on August 8, 2018 by submitting an affidavit . The Federal Ministry of the Interior confirmed two meetings with Petry, but there were no recommendations or advice on how to deal with people or movements in the AfD. Various representatives of the opposition requested further clarification about the meeting. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Maaßen has had around 196 discussions with politicians from the CDU / CSU, SPD, Greens, Left, FDP and AfD since he took office, the content of which was “about questions of risk assessment” and “a general exchange”. "The active communication in the public and political space by the President of the BfV corresponded and still corresponds to the Federal Ministry of the Interior's express wish to actively present the tasks, capabilities and security contributions of the constitutional protection after the loss of confidence as a result of the NSU murders, also by the President. “The German Press Agency named 237 conversations that Maaßen had had with politicians since he took office in August 2012, of which 121 with politicians from the CDU / CSU, 69 with politicians from the SPD, 23 with politicians from the Greens, 14 with politicians from the Left and 5 each were accounted for by politicians from the AfD and FDP.

On August 11, 2018, the AfD chairman Alexander Gauland confirmed that he had had a conversation with Hans-Georg Maaßen. It was about a possible Russian agent in the ranks of the AfD. In a statement, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution emphasized that Hans-Georg Maaßen “naturally” had no political sympathy for the AfD. In addition, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution regularly meets with parliamentarians to debate the security situation, the endangerment of party politicians and attacks on party institutions, but has never given advice on how the AfD can evade surveillance. There was no advice from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution to expel Björn Höcke from the party . On September 11, 2018 it became known that, according to Gauland, there were three meetings with Maaßen. In addition, according to Spiegel, there were controversies with the state offices for the protection of the constitution about how to deal with the identity movement . The head of a regional office is quoted as saying that Maassen's house “had to be carried for hunting”.

On August 16, 2018, a conversation between Maaßen and AfD politician Stephan Brandner became known. Brandner, who is considered a confidante of Björn Höcke and a representative of the völkisch -national wing of the AfD, confirmed that a conversation with Maaßen took place in mid-June. It was about the work of the legal committee of the Bundestag - whose chairman Brandner was at the time - and the contents of the constitutional protection report, which was only officially published five weeks later . Maassen had never had talks with Brandner's predecessor Renate Künast . It was also critically noted that responsibility for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution lies with the Ministry of the Interior - and thus falls within the area of the Bundestag's Interior Committee , not the responsibility of the Legal Committee.

After the revelations in Schreiber's book, the Tagesspiegel sued the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution for disclosure of Maassen's contacts to AfD politicians, whereupon the Federal Office was condemned in an urgent procedure in April 2019 by the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia to be more transparent, as it was not here an operational activity of the office. The BfV then confirmed five meetings with AfD people, two of them with Petry, and requested details about the meetings from his ex-boss, for example to clarify the question of whether, as Schreiber claims, he advised Petry to expel Björn Höcke from the party discussed this in order to avert an observation of the AfD by the constitution protection. Maaßen then announced that he could "not remember whether certain people or currents in the AfD had been discussed". The location of the meeting with Petry on November 2nd, 2015 is also "not remembered". The Tagesspiegel commented that Maaßen, who during his term of office "as the only head of a federal authority" had sent lawyers several times to correct what he believed to be inaccurate press reports, unlike other victims, had never complained against the representation in Schreiber's book.

Refusal to inspect files in the Alois Brunner case

Starting in 2012, a German journalist tried to gain insight into the files available at the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as to why the SS-Hauptsturmführer and Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner was able to evade his arrest and his trial for life and which accomplices and which official channels he was able to use In 1954 they helped to leave Germany for Damascus. Brunner was one of the most important collaborators of Adolf Eichmann in the extermination of the European Jews , in Nazi jargon " final solution to the Jewish question ".

After the suspicion persisted for years that Brunner had been Federal Intelligence Service resident in Damascus, the BND internal research and working group “History of the BND” found out in 2011 that a total of 253 personal files had been destroyed in 1996 and 2007. In July 2018, survivors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp and the International Auschwitz Committee also demanded the disclosure of all files relating to Alois Brunner in Germany.

The Higher Administrative Court for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia ruled on July 5, 2018 that a discretionary decision was only permissible and necessary about the inspection of documents that were filed more than 30 years ago, but - contrary to the opinion of the BfV - one The document is the individual document or piece of writing contained in a file and a process in the BfV's business area is a sub-unit of the overall file, not the overall file as a whole. The approved revision brought in Maassen. He is quoted by the plaintiff journalist after a meeting with a lawyer from Bild with the sentence: "If the judgment of the OVG Münster in the Brunner case is confirmed by the Federal Administrative Court , we will ensure that the (Federal Archives) law is changed."

Members of the SPD and FDP criticized Maaßen's disrespect for freedom of the press and justice. On December 11, 2019, the Federal Administrative Court rejected the appeal and confirmed the view of the Higher Administrative Court.

Comments on the riots in Chemnitz

In an interview published on September 7, 2018 with the Bild newspaper, Maaßen expressed his doubts that during the riots in Chemnitz there had been " hunted down " hunts for foreign-looking people. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution had "no reliable information about the fact that such hunts took place". There is also no evidence of the authenticity of a video broadcast on the Internet that shows such an alleged hunt.

The public prosecutor's office in Dresden contradicted Maaßen in the assessment of the so-called Hasi video ; they have "no evidence that the video could be a fake", so it is also used for investigations. However, despite many other reports, the General Prosecutor's Office also confirmed that they had no evidence of any "hunt".

Maassen's statements met with sharp criticism, as a nineteen-second video recording shows a man from a group in Chemnitz rushing towards two migrants, whereupon they flee. Before that, however, the two migrants had filmed the demonstrators, against which some probably protested. Then, according to the migrants, the cell phone with a beer bottle was knocked out of the hand of one of them and broke. When both returned, people from the demonstration group shouted at them to “run away”, which resulted in the “hunt”. Apart from the AfD, representatives of the parties represented in the Bundestag therefore demanded evidence of Maassen's assertion. The use of the word " murder " was also criticized because Maassen anticipated the investigation and possible prosecution. The responsible public prosecutor's office has so far assessed the crime as joint manslaughter .

Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) expressed his irritation that Maaßen was expressing such suspicions without providing any evidence, and questioned his suitability as President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The deputy SPD chairman Ralf Stegner asked "whom Mr. Maaßen is actually protecting, the constitution or rather the constitutional enemies from the right". Representatives of the Greens, the Left and the FDP also criticized Maassen's statement.

Maaßen reiterated his doubts about the authenticity of the video in a conversation with Parliamentary State Secretary Stephan Mayer and other representatives of the Federal Ministry of the Interior . Leading politicians from the SPD, FDP, the Left and the Greens, including the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer and the Thuringian Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow , called for Maassen's resignation if he could not provide any evidence for his claim.

After right-wing populist organizations and parties had relied for days on Maassen's statements as evidence for the thesis of a “ lying press ”, he put his falsification allegations against the Interior Ministry in perspective on September 10, 2018: Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer had asked him to accept his statements by that day to explain. He just thought that the video's interpretation as a hunt was not authentic and is still doing so. In his opinion, the video was posted on the Internet by an untrustworthy source and was hastily disseminated by the media.

After Maassen had reported to the Parliamentary Control Committee the day before , the SPD party executive asked Chancellor Merkel on September 13, 2018, to replace Maassen as President of the Protection of the Constitution. On the same day, the FDP politician Martin Hagen asked Federal Interior Minister Seehofer to dismiss Maaßen - otherwise Seehofer would become “a security risk himself”. Seehofer continued to express his confidence in Maassen. He convincingly presented his actions in the meetings.

Planned transfer to the Ministry of the Interior

On September 18, 2018 it was announced that Maaßen would be deposed as President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution after an agreement by the governing coalition and would become State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior . This promotion and the replacement of Gunther Adler by the employer and Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer caused criticism from the opposition and also within the coalition party SPD. Because of the "consistently negative reactions from the population" according to SPD chairman Andrea Nahles , the chairmen of the coalition factions negotiated again about a transfer of Maassen. As a result of the consultations on September 23, Maassen was to act as a special advisor for European and international tasks in the rank of department head in the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In doing so, he would have remained at the same salary level as the President of the BfV, i.e. he would have been transferred without promotion. In this role, he should be responsible, among other things, for negotiating agreements for the return of asylum seekers, the common European social policy and agreements with African countries on refugee policy. Seehofer's statement that the new use of Maassen had already been discussed as an option in the first round of negotiations caused irritation. According to a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Seehofer made three suggestions for further use of Maassen in the first round with Chancellor Merkel and SPD leader Nahles: head of a federal agency, state secretary or special advisor. Andrea Nahles denied this: Seehofer had initially only made two suggestions, namely State Secretary or a change of Maassen to the head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), i.e. a change of office with BKA boss Holger Münch . On the evening of September 23, the SPD party executive announced that Nahles had "not rejected" the solution found on that day "on Tuesday" (September 18, the day of the first round of talks). The political disputes over Personnel Maassen led the coalition of CDU / CSU and SPD to the brink of rupture.

Transfer to temporary retirement

On November 5, 2018, Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer asked Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to put Maaßen into temporary retirement with immediate effect, which took place on November 8, 2018. His deputy, Thomas Haldenwang , had been provisional since then and was officially appointed President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution on November 15, 2018, after the Federal Cabinet had confirmed the changes.

The background to this was Maassen's farewell speech published as a manuscript on the BfV's intranet on October 18, 2018 in Warsaw in front of European representatives of the domestic intelligence services ( Bern Club ), in which he again defended his choice of words for the riots in Chemnitz in 2018 and " left-wing radical forces in the SPD" wanted to have made out. "The media as well as green and left-wing politicians" had "been caught in their false reporting" through him and "demanded his dismissal". He went on to speak of the fact that "the media and politicians freely invent 'hunted down' or at least spread this false information unchecked"; for him this is "a new quality of false reporting in Germany". Seehofer spoke of "unacceptable statements" and was "disappointed" that "a collaboration [was] no longer possible". The Interior Ministry examined whether Maassen's speech had violated the commandment of restraint and moderation demanded by officials, but came to the conclusion that there were no legal grounds for initiating disciplinary proceedings.

The CDU vice-president and Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet , said that the Maassen case was "unbeatable in terms of absurdity". The SPD interior expert Burkhard Lischka said that “it was not without reason that Maassen was released weeks ago because of his constant solo efforts and ricochets”. According to the green interior expert Konstantin von Notz , Maaßen and Seehofer are "apparently not clear about how deep the fidelity damage" is now. Maaßen himself had stated that he could also “imagine a life outside of the civil service, for example in politics or in business”. According to a media report, Maassen himself asked the Federal Ministry of the Interior for his temporary retirement.

The AfD chairman Jörg Meuthen invited Maaßen to work in his party. Maassen is "an exemplary official who tells the truth" and had to take "unjustifiably very much beatings" for it. With the words “I've been a CDU member for 30 years. I'll stay that way, ”said Hans-Georg Maaßen, rejecting the AfD's offer.

On February 16, 2019, Maaßen made his first public appearance since his retirement when he gave a speech to members of the Union of Values in Cologne. In it, Maaßen criticized the refugee policy of 2015 and the resulting danger of Islamist terror from his point of view, and lamented a climate in which many were afraid to express their opinion freely “in order not to be put in the right corner”. On February 21, 2019, the Chairman of the Values ​​Union, Alexander Mitsch, announced that Maaßen had joined the group.

At the end of August 2019, further details became known from a confidential report by the Saxon State Criminal Police Office. Chats were found on the cell phones of well-known right-wing radicals who had also been involved in the demonstrations in Chemnitz at the end of August 2018, confirming appointments to hunt people. The men also boasted that they had assaulted people they claimed to have identified as asylum seekers.

In temporary retirement

In April 2019, on the Hungarian state television broadcaster M1 , Maaßen stated that there was still great “immigration pressure” to Europe and Germany, although the necessary precautions to minimize immigration pressure were not being taken.

In May 2019, in connection with the Ibiza affair in Austria , Maaßen commented on the making of the video recordings to the BILD newspaper as follows: “For many left and left-wing extremists, the 'fight against the right' justifies every means. I disagree. The use of such active measures breaks a taboo. ”Maaßen also criticized the involvement of the German media in the publication of the recordings. The deputy leader of the SPD parliamentary group, Eva Högl, said that Maassen's statements were "incompatible with the Federal Civil Service Act and the moderation requirement enshrined in it."

In an interview with Deutschlandfunk in June 2019, Maaßen thought coalitions between his CDU and the AfD in East Germany were conceivable. He said: "I think in the current situation we will also rule out the possibility of such a coalition, but you never know." The goal must be that the CDU in the three upcoming East German state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg will be the strongest party, and he is convinced that the CDU can form coalitions in the three countries without the AfD. Especially in Thuringia, he also sees no basis for cooperation with an AfD under Björn Höcke . For many people, according to Maaßen, he recognizes a great need for “conservative positions and values” which the CDU must serve if it does not want to be a “clientele party in the left-green area”. The Federal Vice-President of the Christian Democratic Workforce (CDA), Christian Bäumler, accused Maaßen of “campaigning for the AfD”; the CDU had rejected a coalition with the AfD "without ifs and buts". Former CDU general secretary Ruprecht Polenz said that Maassen was playing down right-wing extremism. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer also criticized that he saw "a very clear red line". With “far right” there is “no cooperation and no coalition”, that applies “today and tomorrow”. However, he did not consider his support for Maassen at the time to be a mistake, according to Seehofer, because he had “great respect” for Maassen's competencies and trusted “him as a person”.

In July 2019, Maaßen wrote on Twitter about a post he linked in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) with the title “ In German cities, the majority society is facing its end ” the praising comment: “For me, the NZZ is something like ' Westfernsehen ' . ”The NZZ itself protested against this expression, described it as a“ falsification of history ”and emphasized the high level of competence of journalists in German media. Five days later, Maaßen linked a post from the right-wing populist and AfD-affiliated portal Journalistenwatch (JouWatch) on Twitter . This article was about the presence of a team of reporters from the ARD magazine Panorama on board the ship Sea-Watch 3 , with which the captain Carola Rackete headed for the port of Lampedusa with 40 refugees rescued in the Mediterranean . Jouwatch had spoken of a production for the ARD, made comparisons to the Nazi propaganda of the " Kraft durch Freude " cruise ships and described the ARD journalists as "liaison officers" and "henchmen of tugs". Maaßen tweeted: "If this report is correct, Panorama is definitely no longer Western television." Alexander Fröhlich wrote in the Tagesspiegel that Maaßen made a reference to the GDR in both cases with his West television comparison and that its media, which was synchronized and censored with today's West German media on the same level, whereas the term “Westfernsehen” (TV stations from the Federal Republic that could be received in the GDR and were considered a reliable source for many GDR citizens) is associated with objectivity and credibility. Criticism also came from Ruprecht Polenz (CDU), who described Maassen's source JouWatch as right-wing radical and, alluding to Maassen's previous office as head of the protection of the constitution, wrote that "the evaluation of sources and the assessment of their credibility [...] is the core business of the protection of the constitution". Mathieu von Rohr ( Der Spiegel ) found it "worrying what a conspiracy madness Maaßen" shares. In the Tages-Anzeiger , Hans Brandt criticized the fact that Maaßen viewed the Neue Zürcher Zeitung as “what television in West Germany was for GDR citizens: a voice of truth and clarification in a country where no one can trust their own media”.

In an interview in the summer of 2019 with the Rheinische Post , Maaßen stated that people who know him would consider him “social and therefore more on the left” and a realist. One is “not automatically right” if one criticizes the climate policy and the migration policy. According to the newspaper, Maaßen intended to break off the conversation for a short time, because when he said he had not joined the CDU so that “1.8 million Arabs would come to Germany”, he was asked how he used this sentence CDU party colleague Serap Güler would explain. Furthermore, Maassen accused the German media of allegedly not reporting on violent attacks by refugees for "days". As an example, he cited the attacks by four refugees in Amberg, Bavaria, on December 29, 2018 and praised the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and Russia Today Deutsch , as Maaßen said they were the first to report on them. Die Welt notes, however, that the two media mentioned by Maaßen had only picked up on this incident on December 31, whereas Die Welt, BILD , the Süddeutsche Zeitung and Focus had already reported on it on December 30, i.e. on the same day to which the police had issued an initial notice. Jost Müller-Neuhof commented in the Tagesspiegel : “Maybe the ex-top official is disappointed and can't hide it. Perhaps the fuss about firing has unbounded his ego. Or maybe he has always been like that. Then there is still a lot to be cleared up. ”With reference to the meeting with ex-AfD boss Frauke Petry that took place during Maassen's tenure, which Maassen claims to have largely forgotten and at which he is said to have advised Petry to expel Björn Höcke from the party , said Müller-Neuhof that Maassen's “current talk” confirms the suspicion that “two people met at the time”.

In August 2019, the CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said there were "high hurdles to exclude someone from the party for a good reason, but I don't see any attitude in Mr. Maassen that really connects him to the CDU". Above all, she criticized him for “pursuing a policy under the guise of the CDU that sees the political opponent primarily in its own ranks”. She was glad that Maassen “no longer has any responsibility for the German protection of the constitution”. Against the background of the upcoming state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia, this led to internal party controversies.

Also in August 2019, Maaßen gave an interview to the new rights and AfD-related weekly newspaper Junge Freiheit . In a conversation with the Tagesspiegel , Maaßen referred to the Junge Freiheit judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court in 2005 and took the view that the JF was not extremist. The “target group of the newspaper” is “extremely interesting” for the CDU, because this newspaper is aimed “at a conservative and right-wing readership that the CDU has to win or win back”.

With a tweet in September 2019, Maassen sparked another debate. He wrote: “We should think about reforming or abolishing public service broadcasting .” There are “too many” and they are “too expensive, too fat, too narrow-minded and too partial” and “superfluous”. Maaßen received an objection from the Green MP Volker Beck and the Juso federal chairman Kevin Kühnert , who replied: “If you replace 'ÖRR' with 'Verfassungsschutzämter' in your tweet, then that is still not a substantial contribution to the debate, but at least a bit funny. ”The Berliner Morgenpost noted that Maaßen had made these demands just a few days after the ZDF interview, which was broken off by Björn Höcke (AfD).

Publications

  • The legal status of the asylum seeker in international law. Considerations on the international legal framework of a European harmonization of the right of asylum (= Cologne writings on law and the state. Vol. 2). Lang, Frankfurt [et al.] 1997, ISBN 978-3-631-31804-1 .
  • with Gerold Lehnguth & Martin Schieffer: repatriation and readmission. The readmission agreements of the Federal Republic of Germany. Text collection with introduction and explanations (= ZfSH / SGB series of publications. Vol. 3). Schulz, Starnberg 1998, ISBN 978-3-7962-0457-9 .
  • with Marion de Wyl (Ed.): General administrative regulation for the Aliens Act. Text output with the text of the Aliens Act. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne 2001, ISBN 978-3-17-015922-8 .
  • (Ed.): Ordinances on the Immigration Act. Text output. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 978-3-17-018886-0 .
  • with Michael Hund & Winfried Kluth (eds.): Immigration law. General immigration and residence law. Right of residence under European law . Nomos, Baden-Baden 2008, ISBN 978-3-8329-2301-3 .
    • 2nd edition: Handbook of immigration law. General immigration and residence law according to German and European law. CH Beck, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-406-66218-8 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Hans-Georg Maaßen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Hans-Georg Maaßen in the Munzinger Archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)
  2. President Dr Hans-Georg Maaßen, Biography , website of the BfV, accessed on September 14, 2018.
  3. President Dr. Hans-Georg Maaßen, biography ( memento from November 5, 2018 in the Internet Archive ), BfV, accessed on September 9, 2018.
  4. Andreas Förster: Not without my dagger . freitag.de , September 14, 2018.
  5. Maaßen complains of “hunted down” against himself. Die Welt, March 11, 2019, accessed on March 11, 2019 .
  6. a b c Dr. Hans-Georg Maassen . Free University of Berlin. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  7. ^ G. Noll: Hans-Georg Maaßen, The legal position of the asylum seeker in international law. In: Nordic Journal of International Law 67, 1998, p. 371, doi: 10.1163 / 15718109820295615
  8. a b Review of his doctoral thesis by Gertrude Lübbe-Wolff , Archive of Public Law , 125th Volume 2000, pp. 154–157. Quote: In “four dry lines”, Maaßen explains his “policy to combat the causes of flight, which he envisages as a desideratum ”, p. 157.
  9. Hans-Georg Maaßen: The globetrotter Maaßen . In: Zeit Online . ( zeit.de [accessed on September 17, 2018]).
  10. Anja Kühne, Amory Burchard: No longer lecturer at the FU. In: tagesspiegel.de , September 19, 2018, accessed on November 5, 2018.
  11. Dr. Hans-Georg Maassen . European Center for Political Science and State Practice. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  12. * Doitsu iminhō · tōgōhō seiritsu no haikei to dōkō. In: Tsukuba Law Journal No. 2, Dec. (2007), pp. 105–125, Japan (in German: The Current Development of German Immigration and Integration Law. )
    • Gaikokujinhō no chōsen: tero to no tatakai to tōgō no hazama no doitsu gaikokujinhō. Jichi Kenkyū 83-11 (2007), 59–74, Japan (in German: Challenges for the law on foreigners - The German law on foreigners between the fight against terrorism and integration. Title of the journal in German: Journal on Public Law and Municipal (Self-) Administration. )
  13. ^ A b Hans-Georg Maaßen (CDU) - Coalitions with the AfD? - "You never know". Retrieved June 15, 2019 (German).
  14. BMI organization plan. In: FragDenStaat. Retrieved August 16, 2020 .
  15. Administrative Court Bremen (ed.): File number 4 K 1013/05 . Bremen November 30, 2005 ( asyl.net ).
  16. Lisa Caspari: Kurnaz affair accompanies new head of the secret service into office . The time. July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  17. Jens König: A question of guilt and atonement . taz. March 31, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  18. BMI organization plan. In: FragDenStaat. Retrieved August 16, 2020 .
  19. Ralf Jüntermann, Inge Schnettler: Rheindahlener is chief of the secret service . RP Online. July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  20. BMI organization plan. In: FragDenStaat. Retrieved August 16, 2020 .
  21. ^ Günter Bannas: Hans-Georg Maaßen, The Enlightenment . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  22. ^ New President for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution . Federal Ministry of the Interior. July 18, 2012. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  23. ^ Veit Medick : Head of Unit Merciless . Mirror online. July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  24. Mariam Lau: "Ice Cold Technocrat" . Time online. July 15, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  25. Thomas Maron: The quiet critics of Mr. Maaßen . Stuttgarter Zeitung Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. July 21, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  26. ^ Criticism of the designated head of the protection of the constitution . Handelsblatt. July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  27. Reinhard Zweigler: Even before taking office, there was criticism . Central Bavarian Newspaper. July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  28. Left: New boss unsuitable for the protection of the constitution . Hamburger Abendblatt . July 25, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  29. Bodo W. Becker: New President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Dr. Hans-Georg Maassen . Ed .: Press office of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Cologne / Berlin August 1, 2012 ( PDF ; 28 kB).
  30. Robert Kiendl: High expectations of Maaßen . Northern German Radio. August 10, 2012. Archived from the original on August 12, 2012. Retrieved on August 10, 2012.
  31. Federal Minister of the Interior Dr. Friedrich in the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Inauguration of the new President Dr. Measure . Federal Ministry of the Interior - SKIR (Strategic Communication, Internet, Speeches). August 10, 2012. Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved on August 10, 2012.
  32. ^ Jenna Günnewig: Counter-terrorism center opened in Cologne . West German Broadcasting Cologne. November 15, 2012. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved on November 15, 2012.
  33. Maaßen officially no longer in office , Zeit Online from November 8, 2018, accessed on November 8, 2018.
  34. Maaßen changes to HÖCKER , press release of the law firm Höcker from September 30, 2019
  35. Ex-constitution protection chief Maaßen changes to law firm , Tagesschau (ARD) September 30, 2019
  36. Patrick Bahners: Maassen's doctoral thesis: Law, selective. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. September 16, 2018, accessed October 20, 2018 .
  37. Veit Medick: FU Berlin refuses future head of the protection of the constitution honorary professorship . Mirror online. July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  38. Laurence Thio: No honorary professorship for Maaßen . taz. July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  39. Andrea Dernbach: Future head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is considered a "hardliner" . The daily mirror. July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  40. "Ice-cold technocrat" ... or "loyal official"? DIE ZEIT No. 33/2012 August 9, 2012
  41. Laurence Thio, Sebastian Erb, R. Nguyen: "False, outrageous and inhuman" . taz. July 20, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  42. ^ Veit Medick: New Head of the Protection of the Constitution Maaßen: "I don't care about the title of professor" . Mirror online. July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  43. Günter Bannas: Maaßen: Must regain trust . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. July 24, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  44. Photo Gallery: Data 'Made in Germany' Spiegel Online, August 5, 2013
  45. United States SIGINT System January 2007 Strategic Mission List. (PDF; 2.0 MB) National Security Agency, January 8, 2007, accessed November 5, 2013 .
  46. SIGINT Mission Strategic Plan FY 2008–2013. (PDF; 2.7 MB) National Security Agency , October 3, 2007, accessed November 5, 2013 .
  47. Andre Meister: Internal document proves: BND and the Federal Chancellery knew about industrial espionage by the USA against Germany. In: netzpolitik.org. May 27, 2015, accessed May 27, 2015 .
  48. ^ John Goetz, Jan Lukas Strozyk: Cooperation between secret services: More data from Germany to the USA . In: Tagesschau . ARD. June 11, 2014. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014. Retrieved on May 14, 2015.
  49. ^ Konrad Lischka, Christian Stöcker: XKeyscore: How NSA surveillance works . In: Der Spiegel . July 31, 2013. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved on August 2, 2013.
  50. Glenn Greenwald: XKeyscore: NSA tool collects “nearly everything a user does on the internet” ( English ) In: The Guardian . July 31, 2013. Archived from the original on March 20, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  51. NSA helps the protection of the constitution: XKeyscore - the document. In: zeit.de . August 26, 2015, accessed November 22, 2016 .
  52. Andre Meister: XKeyscore: Zeit Online publishes contract, with the constitution protection and BND buy spy software of the NSA - netzpolitik.org. In: netzpolitik.org. August 26, 2015, accessed November 22, 2016 .
  53. ^ Christian Fuchs, John Goetz, Frederik Obermaier: Verfassungsschutz supplies NSA . September 13, 2013.
  54. a b Live blog from the Intelligence Committee of Inquiry: XKeyscore has been in operation for a week and it's running .
  55. Stefan Krempl: NSA committee: BND used XKeyscore without a security concept - heise online. In: heise.de. February 26, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016 .
  56. Wired Staff: The BND used NSA spy software without a security concept. In: wired.de. September 5, 2016, accessed November 22, 2016 .
  57. Stefan Krempl: Allegation of treason: Federal Prosecutor investigates Netzpolitik.org. Attorney General Harald Range has initiated criminal proceedings against two bloggers from Netzpolitik.org on suspicion of treason. The occasion is, among other things, the publication of the secret budget plan of the state security. July 30, 2015, accessed August 4, 2015 .
  58. Hans Leyendecker, Georg Mascolo: Maas warned the federal prosecutor's office early on. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. August 2, 2015, accessed August 4, 2015 .
  59. ^ "Netzpolitik" affair: Opposition politicians demand Maassen's resignation. In: Zeit Online. August 6, 2015, accessed August 6, 2015 .
  60. Opposition politicians demand Maassen's resignation. Federal Prosecutor General Range has to go, now the opposition, President of the Constitutional Protection, is moving into the center of criticism. His release is also overdue. In: FAZ . August 6, 2015, accessed June 9, 2018 .
  61. Protection of the Constitution: Maassen files charges for betrayal of secrets. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is annoyed that secret information keeps getting out. Authority chief Maaßen is now taking legal action in three cases. In: Zeit Online. July 4, 2015, accessed August 4, 2015 .
  62. ^ Rolf Clement: President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution files criminal charges. Confidential processes of the protection of the constitution have repeatedly come to the public. According to DLF information, the President of the Federal Office, Hans-Georg Maaßen, has therefore filed criminal charges in three cases. The Federal Public Prosecutor has two proceedings. July 4, 2015, accessed August 4, 2015 .
  63. ↑ The head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution considers Snowden a "traitor" . The world. April 29, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  64. Maaßen warns of risks to counter terrorism. In: FAZ.net. Retrieved June 13, 2016 .
  65. NSA affair: is Maassen a Russian agent? , Zeit Online, June 10, 2016.
  66. Live blog from the Intelligence Committee of Inquiry: "I cannot say whether Snowden is a Russian agent." .
  67. Video Maaßen under pressure Apparently V-Mann around Anis Amri , Die Welt August 30, 2018
  68. Protection of the Constitution. The constitution is trampling underfoot. SZ-Online , August 30, 2018.
  69. ^ Jost Müller-Neuhof: secret service affairs. The President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution suppressed reports on Amri informers. Der Tagesspiegel, September 5, 2018.
  70. According to Maaßen, no information about Anis Amri was concealed. RP online, October 29, 2018.
  71. Annelie Naumann: "What was the aim and content of the talks with the AfD leadership?" In: welt.de. August 2, 2018, accessed August 8, 2018 .
  72. Severin Weiland: AfD dropout insured - Petry met with the head of the protection of the constitution. In: Spiegel Online . August 8, 2018, accessed August 9, 2018 .
  73. Florian Flade, Daniel Friedrich Sturm, Matthias Kamann: "Ministry of the Interior confirms meeting Maassen with Frauke Petry". In: welt.de. August 10, 2018, accessed August 10, 2018 .
  74. ^ After GroKo crisis summit in Maaßen: This is how Merkel, Seehofer & Nahles' silence can be interpreted. In: Münchner Merkur , September 13, 2018, accessed on September 13, 2018.
  75. AfD and the Protection of the Constitution: Gauland spoke to Maassen about possible agents in the party. In: Spiegel Online. August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018 .
  76. Protection of the Constitution: Hans-Georg Maaßen rejects proximity to the AfD. In: Zeit Online. Retrieved August 12, 2018 .
  77. Gauland reports on three conversations with Maaßen , Spiegel Online from September 11, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  78. Burkhard Ewert, Annalena Klein and Marion Trimborn: Right-wing extremists, ideologues and Stasi officers: How right is the AfD? In: New Osnabrück Newspaper . September 17, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017 .
  79. Maaßen is said to have given unpublished information to AfD . In: Tagesspiegel . 13th September 2018.
  80. ↑ The head of the secret service met other AfD politicians - the declaration raises new questions In: merkur.de . August 17, 2018, accessed August 16, 2018.
  81. ^ Constitutional protection chief Maassen also met with AfD politician Brandner . In: FAZ.net . August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  82. Jost Müller-Neuhof: Haldenwang wants to continue to speak confidentially with AfD politicians. www.tagesspiegel.de, January 30, 2019
  83. Jost Müller-Neuhof: Maaßen claims to have largely forgotten to meet Petry. www.tagesspiegel.de, August 16, 2019
  84. Georg Bönisch, Klaus Wiegrefe: BND destroyed files on SS criminal Brunner. In: Der Spiegel , July 20, 2011.
  85. bnd.bund.de December 22, 2011: Cassations of personnel files in the BND archive ( Memento from July 20, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  86. Auschwitz survivors demand the disclosure of all files on Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner in Germany International Auschwitz Committee, July 4, 2018.
  87. ^ Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia, 15 A 2147/13 .
  88. ↑ The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is under revision in the dispute over Nazi files. In: Die Welt , September 3, 2018
  89. a b New allegations against Maaßen. In: goettinger-tageblatt.de. Retrieved September 16, 2018 .
  90. ^ Jörg Köpke: New allegations against Maaßen. In: HAZ , September 13, 2018
  91. Mr. Maaßen is not responsible for changes to the law. SPD parliamentary group, September 14, 2018
  92. Judgment of 11 December 2019 - BVerwG 6 C 21.18
  93. ↑ President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Maaßen sees no evidence of a hunt in Chemnitz. In: Spiegel Online. September 7, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 .
  94. ↑ President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: "No information about hunted down foreigners in Chemnitz". In: welt.de . September 7, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 .
  95. Hans-Georg Maaßen: President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution expresses doubts about the accusation of agitation .
  96. Marlene Gürgen et al .: "We'll grab it." , In: taz of September 8, 2018, p. 4.
  97. General Public Prosecutor's Office contradicts Maaßen , tagesspiegel.de
  98. Were there any hunts in Chemnitz? In: Tagesspiegel. September 7, 2018, accessed September 24, 2018 .
  99. ^ Moritz Aisslinger et al .: The battle of interpretation. In: Die Zeit from September 14, 2018, p. 2. ( online )
  100. This is how the Afghan refugees experienced the explosive situation . 11th September 2018.
  101. Christoph Sydow: Maaßen and the video from Chemnitz. Claims without evidence (Chemnitz: Hans-Georg Maassen's claim in the fact check) , Spiegel Online, September 7, 2018.
  102. No evidence of counterfeiting , tagesschau.de
  103. ^ Criticism of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: SPD doubts Maaßen's suitability , tagesschau.de, September 8, 2018.
  104. a b Maaßen confirms doubts about the authenticity of video . In: Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk , September 9, 2018. 
  105. a b Right-wing extremist riots. Maaßen relativizes statements about incidents in Chemnitz. SZ-Online, September 10, 2018.
  106. ^ Constitutional Protection President: High time for Maassen's departure , Der Tagesspiegel, September 11, 2018.
  107. Maaßen presents report on Chemnitz. In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved September 10, 2018 .
  108. HAGEN: Maaßen is unbearable in his office | State Press Service. Retrieved on July 21, 2019 (German).
  109. ^ SPD calls on Merkel to dismiss Maassen. Zeit Online , September 13, 2018.
  110. cht / cte / Reuters / dpa: Agreement of the grand coalition: Maaßen has to go as head of the protection of the constitution - and is promoted to state secretary. In: Spiegel Online. September 18, 2018, accessed September 18, 2018 .
  111. ^ Causa Maaßen: Social Democrats attack Seehofer for replacing SPD State Secretary Adler. In: Spiegel Online , September 19, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  112. SPD wants to renegotiate the Maassen case. In: tagesschau.de. September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2018 .
  113. Controversial Head of the Protection of the Constitution - Maaßen becomes a special advisor in the Ministry of the Interior - without promotion. In: Spiegel Online , September 23, 2018.
  114. Maaßen is now special advisor in the Ministry of the Interior. In: welt.de , September 23, 2018, accessed on September 24, 2018.
  115. SPD General Secretary: The solution in the Maaßen case was Seehofer's decision. Merkur.de, September 26, 2018.
  116. Causa Maaßen: Seehofer emphasizes that a solution would have been possible earlier , Deutschlandfunk , September 24, 2018.
  117. Kramp-Karrenbauer: There was a break in the coalition. In: sueddeutsche.de , September 20, 2018, accessed on November 17, 2018.
  118. Seehofer sends Maaßen into retirement. Daily mirror .
  119. Maassen put into temporary retirement. www.sueddeutsche.de, November 8, 2018, accessed on November 15, 2018 .
  120. Maaßen's successor - Thomas Haldenwang appointed President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. In: Deutschlandfunk. November 15, 2018, accessed November 15, 2018 .
  121. ^ President Thomas Haldenwang - biography. In: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. November 15, 2018, accessed November 15, 2018 .
  122. ^ Head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Seehofer sends Maaßen into temporary retirement . In: Spiegel Online . November 5, 2018 ( spiegel.de [accessed November 5, 2018]). ; Maassen's speech in full: "New quality of false reporting" rp-online , November 5, 2018.
  123. ^ Head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Seehofer sends Maaßen into temporary retirement. In: Spiegel Online . November 5, 2018, accessed November 5, 2018 .
  124. ^ Horst Seehofer: No disciplinary proceedings against Hans-Georg Maaßen. December 11, 2018, accessed December 19, 2018 .
  125. Rainer Woratschka: Maaßen is not going to change to Seehofer. www.tagesspiegel.de, November 5, 2018
  126. AfD invites Maassen to collaborate. www.welt.de, November 5, 2018
  127. Maaßen himself asked for temporary retirement. www.zeit.de, November 5, 2018.
  128. Hans-Georg Maaßen wants to remain a CDU member. www.zeit.de, November 7, 2018.
  129. a b Meeting of the Union of Values: Maassen's first appearance as ex-constitutional protection chief is a home game . In: Spiegel Online . February 16, 2019 ( spiegel.de [accessed February 18, 2019]).
  130. ^ Kristian Frigelj: Hans-Georg Maaßen: This is how his first public appearance went . February 16, 2019 ( welt.de [accessed February 18, 2019]).
  131. Maaßen joins the conservative union group. Spiegel Online, February 21, 2019, accessed on the same day.
  132. Karolin Schwarz: Hate Warriors. The new global right-wing extremism. Herder, Freiburg 2020, p. 86
  133. Hans-Georg Maaßen gives an interview to Hungarian TV. In: derstandard.de. April 9, 2019, accessed April 11, 2019 .
  134. Gudenus fears more videos - "Possibly knockout drops in the game." Www.welt.de, May 21, 2019
  135. Constanze von Bullion: Seehofer contradicts Maaßen: “Very clear red line.” Www.sueddeutsche.de, June 16, 2019
  136. Maaßen on coalitions between CDU and AfD - “You never know” www.welt.de, June 15, 2019
  137. Alexander Fröhlich: Provocation with a new West TV tweet: Maaßen posts a hate report from a right-wing extremist medium. www.tagesspiegel.de, July 14, 2019
  138. ^ Hans Brandt: The NZZ woos German right-wing populists. www.tagesanzeiger.ch, July 11, 2019
  139. Maaßen settles accounts with the media - and describes himself as "rather left" . www.welt.de, August 1, 2019
  140. Jost Müller-Neuhof: Hans-Georg Maaßen becomes a case for work-up. www.tagesspiegel.de, August 17, 2019
  141. Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks about Maassen's possible exclusion from the party. www.spiegel.de, August 17, 2019
  142. ^ Berliner Morgenpost- Berlin: AKK and Hans-Georg Maaßen: Exclusion from the party necessary - or not? August 17, 2019, accessed on August 18, 2019 (German).
  143. Frank Jansen: Interview with the former head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Do you enjoy beating the CDU, Mr. Maaßen? www.tagesspiegel.de, August 23, 2019
  144. Abolish? Maaßen thinks ARD and ZDF are "superfluous" - and triggers debate. www.hna.de, September 19, 2019
  145. Maaßen shoots against ARD and ZDF - after Höcke-Wirbel. www.morgenpost.de, September 23, 2019