Report: AfD-Landesvises in NRW allegedly falsified CV
Allegations against Klaus Esser, AfD's deputy leader in NRW, resurface: After recent inconsistencies in the member intake process in his local branch, the allegations now target him personally: The AfD politician is said to have falsified his CV.
The deputy state and faction spokesman of the North Rhine-Westphalia AfD, Klaus Esser, is facing allegations that he has falsified large parts of his CV. This is reported by the Düsseldorf "Rheinische Post". According to the report, the 43-year-old member of the state parliament is said to have claimed in his application documents that he is a lawyer and has passed the first state examination. Corresponding certificates were allegedly attached to the documents as evidence.
Esser did start studying law at the University of Cologne, as confirmed by the university to the newspaper. However, there are no indications that the AfD politician from Düren continued his studies after the basic course and the completed intermediate exam.
It is not the only point where the member of the state parliament is said to have made false statements: According to the report, Esser also claims in his application documents to have a master's degree in law, which he is said to have obtained at the University of Hagen. This could also not be verified. A spokeswoman for the University of Hagen confirmed that Esser "has never taken a master's exam in law and has not obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree at the University of Hagen". She also stated that the university takes "the misuse of certificates and the falsification of documents seriously and pursues this with all available legal means". There are also no records of a state examination.
False signature on alleged certificate
The newspaper submitted the certificate from the application documents to the responsible judicial examination office (JPA) of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for formal review. This shows: It lacks the JPA examination number and the date of the examination taken, and it should be signed by the respective chairmen of the examination office and not "the president", as it says on the attached document in the internal application.
Esser himself does not comment on the allegations, but has his lawyer reject them: The allegations lack any evidence, the newspaper quotes from a letter. There could be no master's certificate because Esser had not completed his studies at the University of Hagen. The letter states the following as an explanation: The CV was falsified by third parties with the aim of harming Esser within the party. He had also "never used the private email address from which the documents are said to have been sent to send applications".
The AfD in NRW also does not comment officially on the allegations against their deputy state leader or on the party's internal application procedures in general - "for reasons of data protection and to protect personal rights".
The allegations of CV falsification against Klaus Esser, the deputy leader of the AfD in North Rhine-Westphalia, have led to intense scrutiny. In response to these claims, the AfD's North Rhine-Westphalia chapter has remained silent, citing data protection and personal rights as reasons for not commenting on internal matters or their leader's actions.
Amidst these controversies, the AfD's silence on the issue of Esser's falsified CV has raised questions about their commitment to transparency and accountability within the party.
