Der Spiegel to Press Charges Against Reporter Who Made Up Articles

Richard Grenell, center, the American ambassador to Germany, has been an outspoken advocate for the Trump administration since taking his post in Berlin in May. [Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images]

Der Spiegel has announced that it will press charges against a former star reporter accused of systemically faking interviews and articles, in what might be the biggest journalism scandal in Germany since another newsmagazine published fake Hitler diaries 35 years ago.

The announcement came as the United States ambassador waded into the scandal by accusing the newsmagazine of anti-American bias and calling for an independent audit.

Richard Grenell, the American ambassador to Germany, wrote a letter to Der Spiegel on Friday that appeared to try to tie the fraud committed by the reporter, Claas Relotius, 33, to the newsmagazine’s editorial methods.

Christopher F. Schuetze, reporting from Hanover, Germany for The New York Times, shares the latest in the Der Spiegel fraud scandal. It’s worth a read.