WASHINGTON - A German intelligence employee is accused of spying on his own country for the United States. The man was arrested last week.

A U.S. official tells CBS News the CIA was involved in recruiting a German intelligence officer for the purpose of spying on the German government.

This was not a rogue operation but an authorized effort to learn more about the inner workings of the German government.

The Obama administration, CBS News has been told, will in the near future announce that it is investigating the matter and officials concede German Chancellor Angela Merkel, already angered by the earlier tapping of her cellphone, will want and will likely receive an explanation.

As one officials said, this will require some smoothing over.