German paper contradicts president in call scandal

Germany's biggest-selling newspaper on Thursday challenged a claim by the country's president that he didn't try to prevent it from publishing a report on his controversial private loan.

President Christian Wulff has faced intense pressure to explain himself since it emerged that he left an angry message Dec. 12 on the voicemail of Bild newspaper's editor-in-chief Kai Diekmann — the day before the story appeared.

Wulff insisted in a television interview Wednesday he hadn't tried to block the report and had merely asked for it to be delayed a day so that "we could talk about it, so that it could be correct."

But Diekmann expressed "astonishment" about that in a letter Thursday to Wulff, which was seen by The Associated Press. He wrote that Bild had already agreed to a one-day delay on Dec. 11, and that Wulff's spokesman — whom the president fired just before Christmas without giving a reason — provided and then retracted responses before Wulff called Diekmann.

He said Bild wants to publish the text of the message "in order to clear up misunderstandings regarding the actual motivation and contents of your call" but would like Wulff's approval "in the spirit of transparency you have spoken of."

Bild said Wulff left the message after failing to get through to Diekmann, who was on a business trip.

Bild reported Dec. 13 that Wulff received a €500,000 ($650,000) private loan from the wife of a wealthy businessman and friend, apparently at below market rates, in 2008. He used the money to buy a house.

At the time, he was governor of Lower Saxony state. But months before he became president in 2010, regional opposition lawmakers asked Wulff if he had business relations with his longtime friend Egon Geerkens, a former jeweler and investor. He said he hadn't, failing to mention the substantial loan from Geerkens' wife.

Prosecutors say they see no evidence of a criminal offense regarding the loan and won't investigate. But Germany's largely ceremonial president is supposed to serve as a moral authority, and critics have raised questions over Wulff's integrity and judgment.

Just before Christmas, Wulff apologized for not disclosing the loan in 2010. That appeared to calm matters until news of the call emerged this week.

Wulff was Chancellor Angela Merkel's candidate for the presidency and is a former deputy leader of her conservative party. A resignation would be embarrassing and distracting for Merkel as she tries to tame the eurozone debt crisis.

The president said in Wednesday's interview that the call to Diekmann was "a serious mistake that I am sorry for and apologize for."

Wulff's office couldn't immediately be reached for comment Thursday.