Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire

Pressure is growing on Rupert Murdoch’s media empire on the other side of the Atlantic. The Attorney General, Eric Holder, is facing calls – including from a senior Senator – to investigate “all entities controlled by News Corp”.

A petition is being organised by the Center for American Progress Action Fund through its Think Progress blog. CAPAF is run by John Podesta, former chief of staff to Bill Clinton and co-chair of President Obama’s transition team. The petition says:

“We are writing to express our concerns of potential corrupt practices by News Corporation.

“Specifically, there are credible reports that News Corp subsidiaries bribed police offers to obtain information about former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and others. Further, there are reports that News Corp subsidiaries hacked into voicemails of politicians, celebrities, and murder victims. Some of this activity may have even occurred on U.S. soil. Although initial reports focused on the U.K. paper News of the World, recent reports suggest that this disturbing conduct extended to several other News Corp properties.

“Given the seriousness of these allegations, we ask that you immediately begin an investigation of all entities controlled by News Corp, including domestic subsidiaries such as Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post.”

Meanwhile Senator Jay Rockefeller, an ally of Obama and Democratic chairman of the Senate Commerce, released a statement reported by the Daily Telegraph:

“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 I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated.

“I am concerned that the admitted phone hacking in London by the News Corp. may have extended to 9/11 victims or other Americans. If they did, the consequences will be severe.”

Earlier this week, the Telegraph reported that News Corp could face a bill of $100 million for US investigations into alleged payments to police officers under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

http://twitter.com/mabbas432/status/91045090415484928 Maryam

Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://bit.ly/rrljay
http://twitter.com/john_gannon/status/91045467449860097 John Gannon

From 1 journo 2 whole empire RT @leftfootfwd: Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://bit.ly/rrljay
http://twitter.com/hitchinengland/status/91045481471426560 Hitchin England

RT @leftfootfwd: Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://bit.ly/rrljay #NewsClub
http://twitter.com/maximmanchester/status/91045719942774786 Max

Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://bit.ly/rrljay
http://twitter.com/shamikdas/status/91052759255748608 Shamik Das

Pressure grows for US legal investigation of #Murdoch empire: http://bit.ly/rrljay reports @wdjstraw on @leftfootfwd #phonehacking #hackgate
http://twitter.com/bristolcwu/status/91054480140943360 Dave Wilshire

Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://bit.ly/rrljay
http://twitter.com/chukwumacleen/status/91054988821929984 Innocent Chukwuma

Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://bit.ly/rrljay
http://twitter.com/modditydodds/status/91059872401072128 Knut Cayce

RT @leftfootfwd: Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://t.co/RAJsVii
http://twitter.com/therightarticle/status/91064950440734720 Michael

Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire l Left Foot Forward – http://j.mp/qG0R8o
http://twitter.com/adamlangleben/status/91065436434743296 Adam Langleben

Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://bit.ly/rrljay
http://twitter.com/apertureimage/status/91071634806542336 Chris

Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://bit.ly/rrljay
http://twitter.com/criminologyuk/status/91075629050630144 Dr Anne Brunton

oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day….http://t.co/sQX3zge I love it when a plan comes together. #notw #hacking #usa #obama
Selohesra

I think you mean a bill of $100,000,000 not $100 – I knew socialists were not very good with money but that is ridiculous
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/07/parliament-unites-against-murdoch-news-corporation-bskyb-takeover/ Parliament to say no to Murdoch as police widen the News International net | Left Foot Forward

[...] On the legal front, Scotland Yard have threatened to widen the scope of their investigation to include the “criminal liability of [News International] directors”, while the pressure is being turned up on News Corporation in the US, with Senators questioning whether phone hacking “has broken United States law”. [...]
http://freedomfiles.blogspot.com Lord Howard Hurts

All this hype while we have a sitting President who has presented a fake birth certificate as his “true, Hawaiian, certificate”. Several document experts have attested that his presented document is fake, but not one person in the Congress of the United States has demanded that the document, Obama presented, be compared with the birth certificate on record in Hawaii, to be assure the public that Obama did in fact present his true and legal certificate. But nowm Congress finds this Murdoch issue so important. Wake Up Congress. The President Has Produced A Fake Birth Certificate. Protect the public by demanding an investigation by the FBI, to either prove or disprove the authenticity of this birth certificate.
Lord Howard Hurts freedomfiles.blogspot.com
Selohesra

LHH – are you a real nutter or just a leftie pretending to be one in an attempt to stir up some reaction?
http://twitter.com/animal_writes/status/91172172386672640 Rupert Walker

RT @leftfootfwd: Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://t.co/aAkjLyx
http://twitter.com/irmaprunsqualor/status/91278265607663617 Lucy

hey if you're still up @cooperantics – RT @leftfootfwd Pressure grows for US legal investigation of Murdoch empire http://t.co/PbQfEX9