US politicians urge criminal investigation of News Corp

The Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller, who chairs the powerful Senate Commerce Committee, has said today that he is considering holding a hearing into whether News Corp employees broke the law by hacking US citizens. His Committee oversees large aspects of the US economy.

Referring to possible hacking activity in the US, Senator Rockefeller told reporters as he left a Senate vote on Wednesday: “my bet” is “we’ll find some criminal stuff”, adding “this is going to be a huge issue”.

Along with Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Rockefeller has written to both the US Attorney General and the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asking them to investigate whether anyone at New Corp had violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which outlaws activity such as the payment of bribes to police officers. In their letter they said:

“The reported allegations against News Corporation are very serious and indicate potentially thousands of victims and a pattern of illegal activity. It is important to ensure that no United States laws were broken and no United States citizens were victimized.”

They called for an investigation into allegations that 9/11 victims may have had their phones hacked.

In a separate move, fellow Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg also wrote to the Justice Department and the SEC to call for a criminal enquiry to be opened, outlining in his letter:

“my deep concerns regarding allegations that News Corporation and its subsidiaries bribed foreign law enforcement officials for information to advance their business interests.”

He went on to say that the anti-bribery law may “apply to all company employees regardless of their nationality or where they reside or do business.”