Former German President Christian Wulff acquitted in corruption case that forced him to quit
Posted Feb 27, 2014 05:04:07 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BERLIN – Germany’s former president, Christian Wulff, was acquitted Thursday of corruption charges in a case that prompted his resignation two years ago.
The state court in Hannover cleared Wulff of illegally accepting favours, news agency dpa reported.
Wulff was once a deputy leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party and was her choice for the largely ceremonial role of president; his resignation less than two years into a five-year term was an embarrassment to the German leader.
He quit when prosecutors asked Parliament to lift his immunity in February 2012 so that they could start a formal investigation.
Wulff had faced a barrage of corruption allegations stemming from his time as governor of the state of Lower Saxony before he became president in 2010.
The charges that went to trial related specifically to some 720 euros ($990) in hotel and entertainment costs allegedly paid by German film producer David Groenewold for Wulff and his family during a visit to Oktoberfest in Munich in 2008. Prosecutors alleged that Wulff then helped Groenewold try to raise support for a film project.
Both men denied corruption.
