FINAL UPDATE: this is crucial. A Republican Chairman for Homeland security expert is now involved.
House Homeland Security Committee chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) wrote to the FBI on Wednesday asking them to investigate allegations of bribery and wiretapping against News Corp., making him the first Republican lawmaker to call for a probe.
After
revelations that victims of 9/11 were targets of illegal phone hacking, the scandal that has rocked his Murdoch's mendacious empire empire can no longer be contained in the UK:
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller has called for an official investigation into the company's methods and activities:
In a written statement, Mr Rockefeller said he was concerned that hacking by News Corporation journalists may have extended to American targets, including victims of the 11 September attacks.
He did not present any evidence to support that claim, but called on the authorities to look into any possible wrong-doing.
"I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated," he said.
"The reported hacking by News Corporation newspapers against a range of individuals - including children - is offensive and a serious breach of journalistic ethics. This raises serious questions about whether the company has broken US law."
And in a update by the ever vigilant Ericlewis0 points out 9/11 victims are clamouring for an investigation:
Jim Riches, a former deputy chief in the New York Fire Department whose 29-year-old fireman son was killed in the attacks, told POLITICO.
“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,” Riches added.
Sally Regenhard, vice chairwoman of 9/11 Parents and Families of Firefighters & World Trade Center Victims, said that she also supports an American probe and added that the latest allegations come at a particularly hard time for victims’ families..
“It’s hard enough for people to deal with the 10th anniversary and now this – it just adds more salt to the wounds,” said Regenhard, who lost her 28-year-old firefighter son, on Sept. 11.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/.... And France Presse has just reported:
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, who called Tuesday for a formal probe into whether alleged improper behavior extended to US citizens, told reporters that his "bet" was that "we'll find some criminal stuff."
Asked whether he was saying he thought there would be evidence of criminal acts in the United States and whether he was referring to possible phone hacking, Rockefeller replied "yeah" each time.
UPDATE X3: He has been joined by New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg who is calling on the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether News Corp. violated US law by allegedly bribing British law enforcement officials. Even Christopher Bancroft, of the family which used to own the Dow Jones has said:
"If I had known what I know now, I would have pushed harder against [the sale]"
Gordon Brown in the House of Commons has just called
News International "
a criminal-media nexus".
In other developments today:
* HOUSE OF COMMONS VOTE TODAY: In an unprecedented move, a motion by the Labour Party leader Ed Miliband that opposes Murdoch's acquisition of the satellite TV monopoly BSkyB, will be supported by all three political parties in the House of Commons this afternoon - though whether it has any force of law is another matter.
Join the liveblog at Labourlist around 10.30 EST, where I write under my real name (visible in my twitter link)
Here's a video from the Previous Prime Minister's Questions at 12.30 pm BST.
STOP PRESS!! As Bobbylad has just diaried News International has now entirely withdrawn its bid for 100 percent of Britain's Biggest Broadcaster - BSkyB. Tenacious investigative journalism, political pressure, and immense people people exercised online and through our elected representatives have seen off this threat - the greatest threat to media plurality and political transparency in my lifetime.
Now keep pushing for Murdoch to be discredited and disarmed in US public life
* COVERUP AND POLICE COMPLICITY: It's now clear that News International, whose Chief Executive Les Hinton is now publisher of the Wall Street Journal and the Dow Jones, lied to Parliament, obstructed the initial police investigation in 2007, and hacked investigators phones. Yesterday's Select Committee re-interviewed the Senior Police Officers involved in the initial investigation:
It's also clear that News International continue to obstruct the police investigation even now through selective leaking and document destruction.
* US RELEVANCE: MEDIA AND MONOPOLY: In what the New York Times has called 'a kind of British Spring', politicians, celebrities, journalists and thinkers are finally speaking out against 30 years of tyranny by News International. At the heart of this are large reaching issues about the Media, Monopoly Power, Money and Democracy - even more relevant in the US. As Will Hutton says:
Which is why Ed Miliband must spell out that the issue goes beyond party. This is about Britain's capacity to sustain a good capitalism, hawklike about monopolists, and a good democracy – hawklike about private, insider lobbying. The takeover of BSkyB could scarcely raise more profound issues. It is about whether Britain is prepared to sustain a state within a state – a proposition to which all of us, of whatever political hue, must surely say no. Which will then require the creation of whatever processes that are needed to make that "no" an ongoing reality. We are going to have to start thinking harder about capitalism, ownership, the media and democracy. The thinking starts now – and Britain will be the healthier for it.
I'll try to update this diary as news comes in.
PREVIOUS DIARY: Big Kudos and Apologies to Ericlewis0 whose original diary on this I missed this morning. PLEASE REC IT UP. Happy to defer to his diary, or any others to keep the pressure on News corp.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: More suggestions welcome, but please join the Twitter and Facebook campaigns to Boycott Newscorp products: @BoycottMurdoch. Avaaz is also organising an online petition - Stop the Murdoch Mafia - which has 80,000 signatories, including Australian and Irish respondents. Of course feel free to write or call you US representatives and senators to back this investigation suggested by Senator Rockefeller. Please pass on any links.
Maybe we need a mother blog for all the breaking stories? Thanks to all the other stellar Kossacks following up this massive story of transatlantic corporate criminality and cover-up, including Ericlewis0 and Bobbylad, already mentioned, and the ever reliable Newscorpse and The Anomaly
FINAL UPDATE: What YOU can DO: Word is that the DOJ is already mooting an inquiry, but thanks for the link from Bill Licero, you can help by signing this letter, linked below
http://thinkprogress.org/...