Prosecuted by his former associates of the Corona Investigative Committee, accused of breach of trust, Reiner Fuellmich[1] has been in custody for six months. His trial opened on January 31, 2024. Our correspondent in Germany, Kerstin Heusinger, attended four crucial days - February 27, March 12, April 2 and 3 - of a trial in which obscure political motives seem to be mixed with personal vendettas.
February 27, 2024, Justus Hoffmann's testimony
7:30am - It's not even dawn yet. I'm waiting outside the Göttingen District Court. Viviane Fischer[2], wearing a flashy outfit, joins the queue. We exchange a few words. She is trying hard to show sympathy for Fuellmich's situation, and is indignant that he is being led into the courtroom in handcuffs. She plans to object. I’ll wait for the hearing to get a clear idea of her attitude.
8:50am - The long wait in the freezing cold comes to an end, and visitors are allowed to enter, passing through a security check just like at the airport. Only paper and pencils are allowed in the courtroom. The room is small. We are seated a few meters from the protagonists. A new criminal lawyer, Christof Miseré, has arrived to join Katja Wörmer in defending Fuellmich.
10:10am - Fuellmich is escorted in, handcuffed, by two security guards. Well dressed, he walks upright. He looks just a little pale. I'm relieved to see he's retained his charisma and his usual sovereign smile.
A striking contrast with the first plaintiff, Justus Hoffmann[3], 37, bearded, tousled medium‑length hair, "shabby chic" leather jacket, slogan sweatshirt and jeans that leave the last third of his buttocks uncovered. He rushes to the witness table, without a sideways glance. As he wiggles in his chair, his buttock cleft comes into view. "Is this how you imagine a doctor of law?" my neighbor wonders.
The second plaintiff, Antonia Fischer[4], takes a seat next to Viviane Fischer (no relation) without paying her a glance.
10:15am - The court, comprising three magistrates and two civilians, enters. Those present in the courtroom rise.
10.20am - The questioning of Hoffmann is conducted in turn by the presiding judge, the defense lawyers and by Fuellmich himself. The previous trial day, Hoffmann's testimony was riddled with obvious inconsistencies, strikingly incoherent for an attorney. On the stand, he even verbally assaulted Viviane Fischer, which irritated both the judge and the prosecutor. However, the Goettingen public prosecutor's investigation has been based solely on the complaint lodged by Justus Hoffmann, Antonia Fischer and Marcel Templin, colleagues in the same lawyer's office. According to Fuellmich, "this complaint seems to have been written by a child". Listening to Hoffmann, it's not difficult to figure out why.
10:30am - Hoffmann complains about the management of the Corona Investigative Committee's funds. Fuellmich explains: "We considered the money in the bank account to be at serious risk. Viviane and I decided to withdraw money from this account, in order to save it from seizure."
10:35am - Part of the Corona Committee's money was invested in gold, while another part had been entrusted to Fuellmich and Viviane Fischer in the form of private loans. Fuellmich's loan totaled €700,000 and was to be repaid by the sale of his house. However, repayment was prevented, as an amount of 1.15 million (loan + assumed interest over 4 years) was seized and transferred directly by the notary to the account of Marcel Templin, colleague of Hoffmann and A. Fischer (cf Reiner Fuellmich, political prisoner? Part 1 : A murky setup).
10:45am - Hoffmann feigns not having any idea how Templin and the notary negotiated this seizure regarding the sale of Fuellmich's house. Yet Hoffmann was present at their meeting.
10:55am - Fuellmich confronts Hoffmann with an email in which the latter has written: "Templin has been a great negotiator" followed by a wink emoji.
11h05am - Hoffmann's answers remain evasive. Shoulders drawn up, back arched, feet nervously dangling beneath the table, he presents the image of a rebellious teenager with a "fuck you" attitude. He claims not to remember his conversations with Templin. He gets incoherent to the point where Me Katja Woermer questions him if he's on medication. He refuses to answer.
12:00pm - Lunch break.
1:10pm - Fuellmich keeps questioning Hoffmann. The latter claims that Fuellmich had intended to "fire" Viviane from the Committee and that she allegedly "gloated" over Fuellmich's arrest. The tension between the two of them escalates. At times, it feels as though we're witnessing a private argument. The judge constantly reminds the accused of the rules of court and urges him to stick to the questions. Woermer stands out for her calm and probing questions.
The confrontation escalates
1:40pm - The confrontation between Hoffmann and Fuellmich escalates to a point where the judge interrupts the hearing for 5 minutes and places protective officers between the accused and the plaintiff. This theatrical, almost cartoonish aspect of the trial leaves me stunned.
2:00pm - We find out that from 2023 onward, Hoffmann had been in touch with Fuellmich, not to seek a solution to their conflict but to help bring about his arrest. Emails reveal that the plaintiffs secretly informed the public prosecutor's office for over a year, providing information on where and when Fuellmich could be arrested. They tried to trap him by inviting him to events. Indeed, there was no legal possibility of arresting Fuellmich, who was living in Mexico, without an international arrest warrant. Fuellmich: "In short, a kidnapping!"
2:50pm - Justus Hoffmann's testimony completed. He leaves the room immediately, accompanied by Antonia Fischer.
3:00pm - Viviane Fischer is called to the witness stand. While her testimony is incriminating, she contradicts everyone's expectations: she presents her collaboration with Fuellmich in a highly favorable light, underlining the remarkable work he accomplished.
3:15pm - Fischer continues: Hoffmann, at the time of his involvement with the Corona Investigative Committee, required payment for any action in which his name appeared, for instance in the reports written by Viviane Fischer. He is quoted saying: "Nothing bearing my name shall be distributed for free".
3:30pm - Today's hearing is adjourned, leaving us in suspense regarding Viviane Fischer's paradoxical attitude.
March 12, Viviane Fischer's testimony
7:50am - Viviane Fischer waits outside the courtroom, away from the spectators who openly support Reiner Fuellmich.
9:10am - Fuellmich enters handcuffed. He looks even more pale than last time, but his energy is unshaken. Justus Hoffmann and Antonia Fischer are absent, as was the case at the last three trial days.
9:45am - Did Viviane Fischer actually have sufficient cash to repay her €100,000 loan to the Corona Investigative Committee? The court reads an email from her lawyer: "It is true that Viviane Fischer's account has not always had liquid assets covering the amount requested". However, in an accompanying letter, Fischer's husband vouched for his wife's solvency through various investments and securities.
10:15am - Fuellmich challenges Fischer: "So why did you write that you didn't have a penny left?". He snaps: "Did the prosecutor even check this guarantee?"
10:20am - Fuellmich: "So the investigation against Viviane Fischer was dropped on the basis of a simple statement by her husband. Without verification. So I ask the following question: was there an agreement between the public prosecutor and Viviane Fischer's lawyer?"
10:30am - Attorney Woermer: "Why did you borrow money if you had the necessary liquidity?" Fischer doesn't back down and replies, "I'm free to finance my affairs as I wish."
10:55am - Part of the Corona Investigative Committee's funds have been secured in gold. According to Fuellmich, Fischer "fought tooth and nail" against the gold being converted back into cash, even when the Committee found itself short of ready cash. Her excuse: "We didn't know how to get the money back". Fischer didn't want the money from the gold sale to flow back into Fuellmich's account, who had bought the gold. A deadlock.
Defamation campaign
11:05am - Fuellmich confronts Fischer: "Why did you start this defamation campaign against me?" Fischer defends herself. Fuellmich asks her if she really believed he would "disappear with that gold?" She dodges. He insists. She argues that the 700,000€ he borrowed didn't come back. Fuellmich: "Did you honestly believe that I, who was the face of the Corona Investigative Committee, internationally known, was going to run off with that money?"
11:10am - The presiding judge calls Fuellmich to order; no provocations, only questions. Fuellmich apologizes and talks about the pressure of being held at Rosdorf: an inmate there recently slit his own throat, because he could no longer stand the particularly harsh conditions of this high‑security prison.
11:30am - Fuellmich asks Fischer why she betrayed him: on September 2, 2022, she led him to believe that the Corona Committee meeting had been canceled and then announced Fuellmich's departure during this publicly broadcast meeting! This was followed by "Fuellmich bashing" by Viviane Fischer, Hoffmann, A. Fischer and Templin, using the broadcasting power of the Corona Investigative Committee. Fischer tries to justify herself referring to the financial disagreements.
Betrayed by Viviane Fischer?
11:50am - The exchange between Fuellmich and Fischer turns technical, around the first legal form of the Corona Investigative Committee with four associates (Fuellmich, V. Fischer, A. Fischer, Hoffmann) and the second one, a foundation shared 50/50 between Fuellmich and Viviane Fischer. To which company should donations given to the Corona Investigative Committee be assigned? The first one, whose articles of association were never legally registered but which received the donations, or the one subsequently created by the two active members?
12:10pm - Lunch break.
1:20pm - Fuellmich's defense team intends to present a video about Viviane Fischer, her marital situation and the guarantee. Fischer reacts very emotionally, almost shouting: this is private. The judge rules that the video is admissible, but the public and press are asked to leave the room. The video is viewed and Fischer is questioned, in a closed session.
1:45pm - Fischer's public testimony continues. Woermer inquires about Fischer's relationship with the two plaintiffs. Fischer states that Hoffmann and A. Fischer threatened to file charges against her too. It was only at the trial that she saw them again. They wished to put an end to their dispute. She replied: "Only if you and Templin prove to me that everything you have done was legal".
2:20pm - Woermer asks Fischer if she is covering up for Hoffmann and Antonia Fischer. Fischer: "No, I simply want to remain neutral". Fuellmich asks her, "Do Justus Hoffmann and Antonia Fischer have any other interest in the Corona Committee, apart from money?"
2:30pm - Fuellmich points out that after his exclusion from the Corona Investigative Committee, he set up the ICIC (International Crimes Investigative Committee) to continue his work. "Have Hoffman and Antonia done any investigative work in the last two years?" "No", Fischer concedes, "but I'm not ready to condemn anyone peremptorily". Well, except for Reiner Fuellmich?
2:40pm - Woermer asks Fischer why she wants all donations to be assigned to the Corona Committee's first corporation, since Hoffmann and A. Fischer have hardly anything to contribute. Woermer: "Once again, why do you spare them?"
Betrayed by Justus Hoffmann and Antonia Fischer
2:45pm - We discover that Hoffmann and A. Fischer, who are now the sole managers of the first company, have pushed Fuellmich completely out of the company, then stripped Viviane Fischer of her status as manager, promising her only the right of co‑decision. Woermer to Fischer: "But you'll be outvoted on every decision. Hoffmann and A. Fischer could hijack the Corona Committee. How can we be sure that they will use the donations to continue investigative work in which they have shown zero interest?" Fischer dodges.
3:15pm - Fuellmich is outraged that the prosecutor has closed the investigations against Fischer without digging, even though his "own life has been examined with a fine‑tooth comb": finances, computer, telephone... Fuellmich insists: "Did you verify the husband's guarantee? You now know, don't you? For Viviane and her husband." The embarrassed prosecutor's only response is a grimace. He's quite young and seems to have little experience. He avoids Fuellmich's straightforward questions.
3:25pm - Viviane Fischer's testimony finishes. The court has not yet decided whether she will be admitted as a plaintiff in the case.
3:30pm - Fuellmich is allowed to conclude by making a statement regarding his situation and his wife’s predicament, accused of complicity, whose bank account has been blocked. The investigation has shown that she was not involved in any part of the affair. Fuellmich is only authorized to communicate with her twice a month, by Skype and under surveillance. He asks that the case against her be definitively closed.
3:35pm - Fuellmich describes the conditions of his six‑month pretrial detention. He can neither consult documents for his defense, nor access his emails. Moreover, the atmosphere in the prison is very tense, with frequent violent altercations. He asks to be released on an electronic bracelet. He clearly has no intention of escaping, as he wants the whole truth to come out.
April 2, unexpected revelations
9:00am - Antonia Fischer sits at the plaintiffs' table. Today, Viviane Fischer is seated in the audience. The testimony takes place in a larger room at the Goettingen court, with the public boxed in behind glass. We are five representatives of alternative media.
9:25am - Reiner Fuellmich enters. Despite his handcuffs, he's carrying a stack of files.
9:30am - The president of the court opens the session by announcing two motions.
Motion 1: For the second time, Viviane Fischer asks to join the complaint filed by Hoffmann, A. Fischer and Templin. Her request is read out loud, revealing that she suspects Fuellmich in particular of having colluded with Marcel Templin to embezzle money from the sale of his own house. This seems so utterly absurd that the audience turns to Fischer with shocked stares.
9:35am - By pointing out that Hoffmann and A. Fischer were both present at the time of signing, attorney Woermer demonstrates the absurdity of Viviane Fischer's suspicions. She adds that it was her who excluded Fuellmich from the Board of Directors and illegally blocked all his access to the accounts and messaging systems of the company in which they were 50/50 partners.
9:40am - Fuellmich accuses Hoffmann and A. Fischer of having been infused as infiltrators in order to destroy the Corona Investigative Committee.
9:45am - Motion 2: Justus Hoffmann requests closed sessions for questions concerning his mental health. He insists that this topic should be kept off the record.
9:50am - The judges leave the courtroom to deliberate on the two motions. During a recess lasting more than 5 minutes, Fuellmich is not allowed to remain in the room. He is then led handcuffed to a cell in the basement, known as "the cellar". This protocol triggers public outrage.
10:10am - Fuellmich is brought back. 1. Viviane Fischer's request is rejected. The public expresses its satisfaction. 2. Interveners must warn judges before referring to Hoffmann's mental health.
10:15am - Fuellmich's second lawyer, Christof Miseré, reads a leaked file from a state security service (BKA or BND) cf Reiner Fuellmich, political prisoner? Part 1 : A murky setup. This file is accepted as an exhibit at the trial.
Collusion between justice and politics?
10:40am - Fuellmich accuses the prosecutor, the judges and Templin of collusion. The president warns him of the risk of further prosecutions in case of accusations without proof. In response, Fuellmich claims to rely on an unpublished part of the BKA/BND file showing that a politician, Marcel Luthe, had infiltrated Marcel Templin's entourage and the so‑called conspiracy circles.
11:30am - It's Antonia Fischer's turn to testify. Clearly articulate and poised, she describes the early days of the Corona Investigative Committee. She complains that she and Hoffmann were not kept informed of the Committee's activities. They had felt left out. She worries about the taxes that the Corona Committee might owe to the tax authorities for the donations collected (several million).
11:45am - Antonia Fischer explains that Viviane had refused her access to the Corona Committee's accounts out of a concern for confidentiality. She and Hoffmann did not approve of certain actions carried out by Fuellmich and Viviane Fischer. Fuellmich apparently replied: "Either you leave, or we'll leave and let the dynamite explode, leaving you with the pieces". This made them feel threatened.
April 3, Antonia Fischer’s hearing
7:00am - The audience arrives increasingly earlier. However, the hearing is held again in the small room, leaving a number of people outside due to lack of space. The atmosphere is very tense. For the first time, Viviane Fischer is not present.
9:20am - Fuellmich enters, handcuffed. People in the audience are standing up. A silent tribute. Fuellmich looks at them, suddenly stretches out his wrists in a gesture of strength and freedom and calls out, "We'll catch them all!". It gives me goosebumps.
9:30am – The proceedings continue as if yesterday's BKA/BND revelations had never occurred. The court sticks to the pre‑established agenda. Only the prosecutor seems less sure of himself, gazing down at his computer screen.
9:45am - Hearing of Antonia Fischer, interrogated by the judges on the conflict between Fuellmich and the Templin law firm over the class action lawsuit. Antonia Fischer states not knowing anything about it. Fuellmich merely points out that it was him who carried out all the work involved in recruiting plaintiffs for the class actions (grouped international complaints).
10:00am - Fuellmich defends the hours of work billed by his law firm. The Corona Investigative Committee didn't want to hire an employee to handle the numerous requests for joining the class actions. No one was answering emails.
10:20am - Attorney Woermer asks the prosecutor why no charges have been brought against Hoffmann, A. Fischer and Templin? Fuellmich insists: he was accused by the very person who stole the money. It's an acknowledged fact that Marcel Templin, with the help of Hoffmann and Antonia Fischer, recovered the money intended to reimburse the Corona Investigative Committee. The prosecutor replies that he is awaiting the outcome of this trial to determine whether there has been any misappropriation of funds by the Templin firm. Disapproving murmurs from the audience.
10:45am - Interrogation on the threats that Hoffmann and A. Fischer claim to have received. Concrete threats? Antonia Fischer cites the "dynamite" that Fuellmich threatened to release. What "dynamite"? Maybe a documentary that accused her and Hoffmann of being part of a controlled opposition? Woermer insists: "Does this supposition really justify a criminal complaint?" Antonia Fischer points to Fuellmich's “cowboy methods”, who is also reported to have said on another occasion: "We're going to have to get the Winchester out of the closet". For this reason, they declared Fuellmich to be dangerous.
Blackmail between partners
11:30am - Fuellmich clarifies that A. Fischer and Hoffmann requested money in exchange for their withdrawal from the Corona Committee company. They each claimed 25% of the company's assets, whereas the articles of association state that they were only entitled to their initial capital contribution, i.e. €125.
12:00am - Antonia Fischer confirms that their complaint against Fuellmich asked the public prosecutor to prohibit Fuellmich from being judicially heard before the trial, otherwise she and Hoffmann threatened to withdraw their complaint.
12:10pm - Lunch break.
1:10pm - Fuellmich's defense team tries to untangle the links between the plaintiffs and the politician Marcel Luthe, suspected of having infiltrated "the resistance" on behalf of the intelligence services. Antonia Fischer admits being friends with Marcel Luthe and having spoken to him about Fuellmich.
1:20pm - Fuellmich intends to present a letter concerning Hoffmann's mental health. He wants to show that Hoffmann is the type of individual the intelligence services would target and manipulate in cases like this.
Infiltration and manipulation?
1:25pm - The court retires to deliberate on the admissibility of this letter and orders Fuellmich down "to the cellar" during the interruption.
2:05pm - The court returns: examination of the letter accepted, but the public is excluded.
2:35pm - The public is allowed to return. Questioning about the accusations of antisemitism in the complaint against Fuellmich. Antonia Fischer states that she is not quite sure what Fuellmich is accused of.
2:40pm - Fuellmich clarifies that these accusations are linked to an interview he did with Vera Sharav, in which she stated that Hitler was not solely responsible for the Holocaust, but was also financed by American bankers. A misunderstanding had arisen due to an incomplete German translation of the English interview.
Antonia Fischer responds by stating that she would not have mentioned antisemitism in the complaint had she known. Furious, Fuellmich calls her out and asks if she actually knew what she was signing!
2.45pm - Woermer asks who now owns the money recovered by Templin and how the plaintiffs intend to use it? Antonia Fischer dodges. "We're waiting for the trial to be over, so we can sit back and think about what we're going to do with the money”.
2:50pm - Furious, Fuellmich snaps: "All in all, you take all the money and I'm in jail, is that your arrangement?"
3h05pm - End of Antonia Fischer's hearing. The next hearing will take place on April 19, with the hearing of the first defense witness.
The trial is yet far from over. Court dates have been set until mid‑May 2024. It remains to be determined whether there is any real evidence to support the only remaining charge (of the original 18) against Reiner Fuellmich: breach of trust.
Kerstin Heusinger for BAM! - with KAro and Michel Caulea
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Caption and illustration by BAM!
Drawings by Kerstin Heusinger
[1] Reiner Fuellmich is an attorney at law admitted to the German and Californian bars, specialized in consumer defense, with notable victories against multinationals such as Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen, Kuehne+Nagel. Since July 2020, he has been an emblematic figure in the global resistance to the "plandemic". Together with Viviane Fischer, he is the founder of the Corona Investigative Committee and the Grand Jury - Peoples’ Court of Public Opinion, designed to reveal the truth about the Covid crisis and its totalitarian foundations. The live broadcasts of the hearing of over 150 international experts have helped to substantiate the guilt of leaders such as Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates and Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director of the WHO;
[2] Before 2020, Viviane Fischer was a gifted and unconventional lawyer, who pursued a second profession: hat designer, internationally known under her artist name Rike Feurstein. In March 2020, as soon as lockdowns began, she was among the first to describe the crisis as a "global coup". She immediately came up with the idea of a response in the form of petitions, popular movements and a high‑profile committee of inquiry. From this idea and from her meeting with Dr. Reiner Fuellmich, was born the Corona Investigative Committee, then the Grand Jury - Peoples’ Court of Public Opinion. After 2 years of intense investigations and hearings, broadcast around the world, it was Viviane Fischer who brought her disagreements with Reiner Fuellmich to a climax, thus bringing the Corona Investigative Committee and the Grand Jury to a halt.
[3] Dr. Justus Hoffmann and Antonia Fischer are two lawyers who were involved in the early days of the Corona Investigative Committee. Their involvement appears to be minor compared to that of Fuellmich and Viviane Fischer. They appear in the first video‑broadcast hearings of the Corona Committee, occasionally asking questions, often remaining silent. They then faded into the background and no longer took part in the Corona Committee hearings. It was them and their colleague Marcel Templin, with whom they share the same law firm, who filed the complaint against Reiner Fuellmich in 2022. Templin's role alongside the Corona Committee still raises many questions.
[4] Antonia Fischer and Justus Hoffmann are two lawyers who were involved in the early days of the Corona Investigative Committee. Their involvement appears to be minor compared to that of Reiner and Viviane. They appear in the first video‑broadcast hearings of the Corona Committee, occasionally asking questions, often remaining silent. They then faded into the background and no longer took part in the Corona Committee hearings. It was them and their colleague Marcel Templin, with whom they share the same law firm, who filed the complaint against Reiner Fuellmich in 2022. Templin's role alongside the Corona Committee still raises many questions.
