The White House National Security Council initially said it “was not going to comment on specific intelligence allegations”, before adding that “we are not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande”.
However, Ned Price, NSC spokesman, declined to respond to the allegations that the US had spied on the French leaders in the past. The NSA also declined to comment on the allegations.
“We do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and validated national security purpose,” said Mr Price. “This applies to ordinary citizens and world leaders alike. We work closely with France on all matters of international concern, and the French are indispensable partners.”
The reports, based on documents leaked to WikiLeaks, the website founded by Julian Assange to allow whistleblowers to share confidential material anonymously, allege that the US also listened to the phones of dozens of French diplomats and ministers during the period, running from 2006 to 2012.
The allegations echo claims in 2013 that the NSA monitored the communications of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, following the release of documents by Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower.
The report caused a diplomatic row between the countries and sparked a legal investigation. That probe was dropped this month by Germany’s federal prosecutor, who cited a lack of co-operation from US authorities.
According to French daily newspaper Liberation, which released the WikiLeaks documents, the conversations did not reveal high state secrets. One document recounts how Mr Hollande in 2012 allegedly met German opposition leader Sigmar Gabriel without Ms Merkel’s knowledge to discuss the implications of a possible Greek exit from the eurozone.
The claims about US spying come as Washington is dealing with the aftermath of a massive cyber attack that managed to obtain private information about as many as 18m federal workers.
Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, on Tuesday revealed that he had been one of the victims of the hacking, but said he did not know how many people at the White House had been victims of the cyber breach.
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