2nd UPDATE: US Senators Seek Probes Of Alleged News Corp Hacking
13 Juli 2011 - 9:18PM
Dow Jones News
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Three Democratic U.S. Senators are
calling for probes into a News Corp. (NWS, NWSA) phone-hacking
scandal, with one suggesting that alleged violations may have
occurred in the U.S. and go beyond reporting tactics in
Britain.
On Wednesday, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D, N.J.), Senate Commerce
Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D, W.Va.) and Sen. Barbara
Boxer (D., Calif.) asked the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether anyone at
the company violated antibribery laws amid allegations that the
company paid law-enforcement officials for information. A day
earlier, Rockefeller asked U.S. authorities to investigate whether
American phones were hacked, saying he was concerned that hacking
may have extended to victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks or
other Americans.
"This is going to be a huge issue," Rockefeller told reporters
on Wednesday as he left a vote on the Senate floor. He said that he
may hold hearings in his committee, although jurisdiction would
extend to the Senate Judiciary Committee in the event that a probe
focused on criminal activity. "My bet" is "we'll find some criminal
stuff," he told reporters, specifying he meant related to hacking
in the U.S. He declined to elaborate.
A News Corp. spokesman declined to comment. News Corp. owns Dow
Jones & Co., publisher of Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall
Street Journal.
In two separate letters, the three Senators raised questions
about possible violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act, an antibribery law that U.S. authorities have enforced with
vigor in recent years.
"I am writing to express my deep concerns regarding allegations
that News Corporation and its subsidiaries bribed foreign law
enforcement officials for information to advance their business
interests," Lautenberg wrote to the SEC and the Justice Department.
He said that the law forbids bribery of foreign government
officials, and may "apply to all company employees regardless of
their nationality or where they reside or do business."
Boxer and Rockefeller wrote to the SEC and DOJ that "the
reported allegations against News Corporation are very serious,
indicate a pattern of illegal activity, and involve thousands of
potential victims. It is important to ensure that no United States
laws were broken and no United States citizens were
victimized."
The two lawmakers also asked whether any U.S. citizens' phone
records were hacked in what they say may have been illegal access
of phone records of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
A Justice Department spokeswoman said the agency would review
the letter and declined further comment. An SEC spokesman said he
wasn't aware of any earlier cases in which the SEC had brought
charges against a news company involving payments for information,
but declined to comment further.
On Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius
Genachowski said that he didn't expect the agency to get involved
in the ongoing probe in the U.K. He said that the FCC's mass-media
bureau would "do its job if issues arise."
-By Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; (202) 862-6654;
siobhan.hughes@dowjones.com
--Brent Kendall contributed to this report.
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