An exclusive German ambassador warns of Trump’s plan to redefine the constitutional order, a Reuters document shows
Sabine Siebold and Friederike Heine
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s ambassador to the United States has warned that the incoming Trump administration will strip away the independence of American law enforcement and the media and give big tech companies “co-governance power”, according to a confidential document seen by Reuters.
A Jan. 14 briefing paper signed by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis describes Donald Trump’s plan for his second term in the White House as one of “maximum disruption” that will lead to “a redefinition of the constitutional order — a maximum concentration of power from the president at the expense of Congress and the federal state.”
“Basic democratic principles and checks and balances will be greatly undermined, the legislature, law enforcement agencies and the media will be stripped of their independence and abused as a political arm, Big Tech will be given the power to co-govern,” it said.
Trump’s transition team did not comment on the ambassador’s assessment.
The German Foreign Ministry said that American voters had elected Trump in a democratic election and that he would “cooperate closely with the new American administration in the interests of Germany and Europe.”
Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has largely refrained from direct public criticism of Trump since the election, but the ambassador’s confidential assessment offers an outspoken view from a senior German official.
Ambassadors are not automatically replaced with the formation of a new government, unless the change is deemed necessary for diplomatic or other reasons.
The document cites the judiciary, and particularly the US Supreme Court, as central to Trump’s attempts to advance his agenda, but says that despite the court’s recent decision to expand presidential powers, “even its biggest critics assume it will prevent the worst happens.”
Michaelis sees control of the Justice Department and FBI as critical to Trump’s achievement of his political and personal goals, including mass deportations, retaliation against perceived enemies and legal impunity.
He says Trump has broad legal options to impose his agenda on states, saying “even military deployment within the country for policing 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 some exceptions.
Michaelis also predicts a “redefinition of the First Amendment,” saying Trump and billionaire X owner Elon Musk are already cracking down on uncooperative critics and media companies.
“One uses lawsuits, threatens prosecution and license revocation, and the other manipulates algorithms and blocks accounts,” the document says.
Musk’s repeated endorsement of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of national elections on February 23 has sparked outrage in Berlin, but the government has not unanimously abandoned his platform.
Berlin suffered a particularly rocky relationship with the United States during the first Trump administration, facing steep tariffs and criticism for failing to meet NATO’s defense spending target.
