By Sabine Siebold and Friederike Heine
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany's ambassador to the United States has warned that the incoming Trump administration will strip U.S. law enforcement and the media of their independence and hand “co-governing power” to big tech companies, according to a confidential document seen by Reuters.
The briefing document, dated January 14 and signed by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis, describes Donald Trump's agenda for his second term in the White House as one of “maximum disruption” that will lead to “a redefinition of the constitutional order – maximum concentration of power with the president at the expense of Congress and the states.”
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“Fundamental democratic principles and checks and balances will be largely undermined, the legislature, law enforcement and the media will be deprived of their independence and abused as a political arm, Big Tech will be given co-governance power,” it said.
Trump's transition team had no immediate comment on the ambassador's assessment.
The German Foreign Ministry said American voters chose Trump in democratic elections and that it would “work closely with the new US administration in the interests of Germany and Europe.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's outgoing government has largely refrained from direct public criticism of Trump since the election, but the ambassador's confidential assessment offers a blunt view from a senior German official.
Ambassadors are not automatically replaced upon the formation of a new government, unless a change is deemed necessary for diplomatic or other reasons.
The document names the judiciary, and especially the U.S. Supreme Court, as central to Trump's efforts to advance his agenda, but says that despite the court's recent decision to expand presidential powers, “even its strongest critics assume that this will prevent the worst. .”
Michaelis views control of the Justice Department and the FBI as key to achieving his political and personal goals, including mass deportations, retaliation against perceived enemies, and legal impunity.
He says Trump has ample legal options to impose his agenda on the states, saying that “even military deployment into the country for police activities would be possible in the event of a declared 'insurrection' and 'invasion'.”
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the federal military from participating in domestic law enforcement, with few exceptions.
Michaelis also foresees a “redefinition of the First Amendment,” saying Trump and billionaire X owner Elon Musk are already taking action against critics and uncooperative media companies.
“One uses lawsuits, threatens criminal prosecution and revocation of licenses, the other manipulates algorithms and blocks accounts,” he says in the document.
Musk's repeated show of support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the February 23 national elections has sparked anger in Berlin, but the government has failed to unanimously abandon his platform.
Berlin had a particularly difficult relationship with the United States during the first Trump administration, facing costly tariffs and criticism for failing to meet NATO's defense spending target .
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Friederike Heine; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
