Alleged NSA Merkel phone‑number list leak via Snowden and unknown intermediary

Alleged NSA Merkel phone‑number list leak via Snowden and unknown intermediary The passage suggests that a list of foreign leaders’ cell numbers, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s, was copied by Edward Snowden and possibly passed to journalists, fueling a high‑profile diplomatic scandal. It names Snowden, an unnamed former intelligence executive, and references the German federal prosecutor investigation, providing enough specifics (names, dates, agencies) for a reporter to pursue verification of the leak chain, the intermediary, and any related documents. The claim ties senior U.S. intelligence (NSA) and a foreign leader, making it moderately controversial, but the core allegation (that Merkel’s phone was not actually intercepted) has already been publicly addressed, limiting novelty. Key insights: Snowden allegedly copied an NSA list of foreign leaders’ cell phone numbers, including Merkel’s.; A former intelligence executive suggests an intermediary fed the list to journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner, Appelbaum, for Der Spiegel.; German federal prosecutor investigation (2015) found no evidence Merkel’s calls were intercepted.