| As we predicted Monday night, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. empire is now in deep trouble in New Jersey for what appear to be illegal and immoral activities.
On one front, Senator Menendez has asked Attorney General Holder to investigate "accusations made by a British lawmaker that News International, a British subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, had hacked into the phones of 9/11 victims":
"The U.S. government must ensure that victims in the United States have not been subjected to illegal and unconscionable actions by these newspapers seeking to exploit information about their personal tragedies for profit,"
Despite the owners of Fox News being involved, this is no partisan matter as Republican Congressman Peter King says he feels the same way.
Meanwhile, Senator Lautenberg has identified what may be legally even more serious: violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when News Corp employees allegedly bribed the police.From his letter to Holder:
As you know, the anti-bribery provisions of FCPA make it illegal for a U.S. person or company to pay foreign officials to obtain or retain business. In this case, media reports indicate that reporters for News of the World, a newspaper that is controlled by a subsidiary of News Corporation, paid London police officers for information...
As you know, News Corporation is a U.S.-based company subject to FCPA. Indeed, the company's own website states the following: "The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is a U.S. law that forbids bribery of foreign (meaning non-U.S.) government officials, whether elected or appointed, even if the bribe takes place outside the United States. Because News Corporation is a U.S. corporation, the FCPA may apply to all Company employees everywhere in the world, regardless of their nationality or where they reside or do business."
The British "firestorm", as the Prime Minister calls it, shows this story won't go away but the United States Department of Justice must do its part. |
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