Anger Erupts at Hearing in Kohl Scandal

Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl flashed his temper Thursday during a hearing on his party’s financing scandal, shouting at Parliament members when pressed to reveal the names of donors he has vowed to keep secret in violation of the law.

The clash erupted during Kohl’s second day of defiant testimony to a parliamentary committee when a member repeatedly asked Kohl in sharp tones how he would react if an ordinary citizen took such an attitude toward the law.

“You’re not going to shut me up with your shouting,” Kohl barked at Frank Hofmann, a lawmaker for the governing Social Democrats who triggered several minutes of tumult with the question.

“You’re not supposed to be silent, you’re supposed to talk,” Hofmann fired back.

“I’m not going to talk in a situation where people are shouting,” Kohl said.

Later, however, he acknowledged that he broke the law by accepting about $1 million in anonymous donations for his party, the Christian Democratic Union, while he was chancellor in the 1990s.

“My mistake was that I accepted donations that were not declared and that I disregarded the law,” he said.