ktlight
14th July 2011, 21:47
FYI:
Several powerful congressmen had demanded an inquiry into the claims, which had sparked a furious response from the families of those who lost their lives in the atrocity.
The launch of an inquiry into alleged phone hacking in the US means the scandal has now officially moved beyond the UK for the first time into News Corp’s most valuable commercial market.
It opens up a potentially hugely damaging new front for Mr Murdoch following days of revelations which have already forced the closure of the News of the World, prompted the launch of multiple criminal and judicial inquiries and led to News Corp withdrawing its bid for BSkyB.
The FBI inquiry follows the intervention of Peter King, a New York congressman, who wrote directly to the Bureau demanding an inquiry into the 9/11 claims. Reports had suggested that the News of the World attempted to buy the phone records of victims of the 2001 bombings.
“We’re looking into allegations raised by the letter by Peter King yesterday,” an FBI source said last night.
In his letter, Mr King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, had urged the FBI to look into claims that the News of the World tried to illegally access telephone records of 9/11 victims through bribes to US law enforcement officials and illegal wiretapping.
“The 9/11 families have suffered egregiously, but unfortunately they remain vulnerable against such unjustifiable parasitic strains. We can spare no effort or expense in continuing our support for them,’’ Mr King wrote in a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Jim Riches, a former deputy chief in the New York Fire Department whose 29-year-old fireman son was killed in the 9/11 attacks had also been among those calling for an investigation.
“Someone should look into it to see if their rights were violated – the family members I’ve talked to are appalled, they’re disgruntled, they have to relive the pain all over again,” he had said.
“I think they crossed the line. They’re trying to get messages from loved ones in the last moments of their lives. It’s horrible, and they should be held accountable. It’s despicable and unethical.”
America is News Corp’s largest market and home to Mr Murdoch’s hugely successful Fox cable television network. The 80-year old billionaire has lived in New York since 1974, and just over a decade later became a US citizen, something that is required to own television stations in the country. Spearheaded by the pro-Republican Fox News Channel, News Corp’s overall cable television business generates about 60 per cent of the company’s profits.
The disclosure of the FBI’s involvement came after the head of America’s corporate regulator last night pledged to “carefully” consider requests from powerful senators to investigate Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, including alleged violation of a law that forbids US firms from bribing foreign officials.
Mary Schapiro, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said she would examine written demands by six Congressmen to launch a probe into News Corp, Mr Murdoch’s umbrella company which is based in New York.
They have asked the SEC to look at whether News Corp may have breached America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
“We will look at it very carefully, as we do all Congressional correspondence.” Ms Schapiro said.
The US Department of Justice meanwhile, said it was also reviewing calls for an investigation into whether the "routine phone hacking committed by News of the World journalists" in Britain could have been inflicted on American citizens.
Media watchdogs and legal experts said it was likely that an investigation would be launched, given the scale of malpractice by Murdoch employees in Britain.
source to read more
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8638851/Phone-hacking-FBI-launches-investigation-into-Rupert-Murdochs-News-Corp.html
Several powerful congressmen had demanded an inquiry into the claims, which had sparked a furious response from the families of those who lost their lives in the atrocity.
The launch of an inquiry into alleged phone hacking in the US means the scandal has now officially moved beyond the UK for the first time into News Corp’s most valuable commercial market.
It opens up a potentially hugely damaging new front for Mr Murdoch following days of revelations which have already forced the closure of the News of the World, prompted the launch of multiple criminal and judicial inquiries and led to News Corp withdrawing its bid for BSkyB.
The FBI inquiry follows the intervention of Peter King, a New York congressman, who wrote directly to the Bureau demanding an inquiry into the 9/11 claims. Reports had suggested that the News of the World attempted to buy the phone records of victims of the 2001 bombings.
“We’re looking into allegations raised by the letter by Peter King yesterday,” an FBI source said last night.
In his letter, Mr King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, had urged the FBI to look into claims that the News of the World tried to illegally access telephone records of 9/11 victims through bribes to US law enforcement officials and illegal wiretapping.
“The 9/11 families have suffered egregiously, but unfortunately they remain vulnerable against such unjustifiable parasitic strains. We can spare no effort or expense in continuing our support for them,’’ Mr King wrote in a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Jim Riches, a former deputy chief in the New York Fire Department whose 29-year-old fireman son was killed in the 9/11 attacks had also been among those calling for an investigation.
“Someone should look into it to see if their rights were violated – the family members I’ve talked to are appalled, they’re disgruntled, they have to relive the pain all over again,” he had said.
“I think they crossed the line. They’re trying to get messages from loved ones in the last moments of their lives. It’s horrible, and they should be held accountable. It’s despicable and unethical.”
America is News Corp’s largest market and home to Mr Murdoch’s hugely successful Fox cable television network. The 80-year old billionaire has lived in New York since 1974, and just over a decade later became a US citizen, something that is required to own television stations in the country. Spearheaded by the pro-Republican Fox News Channel, News Corp’s overall cable television business generates about 60 per cent of the company’s profits.
The disclosure of the FBI’s involvement came after the head of America’s corporate regulator last night pledged to “carefully” consider requests from powerful senators to investigate Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, including alleged violation of a law that forbids US firms from bribing foreign officials.
Mary Schapiro, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said she would examine written demands by six Congressmen to launch a probe into News Corp, Mr Murdoch’s umbrella company which is based in New York.
They have asked the SEC to look at whether News Corp may have breached America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
“We will look at it very carefully, as we do all Congressional correspondence.” Ms Schapiro said.
The US Department of Justice meanwhile, said it was also reviewing calls for an investigation into whether the "routine phone hacking committed by News of the World journalists" in Britain could have been inflicted on American citizens.
Media watchdogs and legal experts said it was likely that an investigation would be launched, given the scale of malpractice by Murdoch employees in Britain.
source to read more
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8638851/Phone-hacking-FBI-launches-investigation-into-Rupert-Murdochs-News-Corp.html