German President: “I have done nothing illegal”

The German president says he will not be resigning despite a growing media scandal.
 
In a TV interview, Christian Wulff says he has done nothing illegal, amid claims he tried to get a newspaper to drop an embarrassing story on a loan he received.
 
“I am keen to fulfill my duties,” he said. “I am in office for a five-year term and after that I intend to present a record that I was a good, successful president, doing my job with joy and conviction. And I know that I have done nothing illegal, although not everything I did was right.”
 
The president did say he committed what he calls a serious fault when he called the editor of the Bild newspaper. It is claimed Wulff angrily threatened a “war” if a story was published. It is also reported he telephoned the head of the company that owns the paper.
 
Media reports last month said the president received a home loan at cheap rates from the wife of a wealthy businessman friend.
 
Despite the resignation calls, the president has been given the backing of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She pushed for his election last year.
 

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