Video: Angela Merkel hits out at 'spying among friends' after US bugging claims Angela Merkel said that trust between the US and its partners has to be restored following allegations that American intelligence targeted her cellphone. "Spying among friends does not work at all," she said. We need trust among partners and this trust needs to be restored now The German Chancellor was speaking after it emerged that the NSA, the US intelligence agency charged with intercepting communications, could have bugged her mobile phone for up to four years.