Why the FBI probe is unlikely to hurt Murdoch
I said yesterday morning at least one Republican Representative (that number has now grown) and one Democrat Senator were demanding an FBI investigation into claims the News of the World hacked into phones of 9/11 victims.
Now, the NY Times reports:
In response to requests from members of Congress and to at least one news report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York opened a preliminary inquiry on Thursday into allegations that News Corporation journalists sought to gain access to the phone records of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to several people briefed on the matter.
The investigation is in its earliest stages, two of the people said, and its scope is not yet clear. It also is unclear whether the F.B.I. has identified possible targets of the investigation or possible specific criminal violations.
The bureau is “taking a hard look at it from a couple of angles,” one of the people said. The person said the matter was being treated as an assessment, a term the bureau uses to characterize the early stages of an investigation that precede the possible issuance of subpoenas or the use of other investigative tools like wiretaps.
The story comes from one Daily Mirror report, with no follow-up from the tabloid itself or even the Guardian.
So its likely the FBI will first look into whether the claims stands up. They will have to quickly comb through the 4,000 or so phone-hacking victims and ascertain whether 9/11 victims were among them.
I spoke to one source at the Daily Mirror tonight last night who said the newspaper would not have run the story if it did not stand up.
Here’s the problem – it’s not clear whether phones of 9/11 victims were actually hacked.
The original Daily Mirror story says:
The pair chatted behind closed doors as a former New York cop made the 9/11 hacking claim. He alleged he was contacted by News of the World journalists who said they would pay him to retrieve the private phone records of the dead.
Now working as a private investigator, the ex-officer claimed reporters wanted the victim’s phone numbers and details of the calls they had made and received in the days leading up to the atrocity.
A source said: “This investigator is used by a lot of journalists in America and he recently told me that he was asked to hack into the 9/11 victims’ private phone data. He said that the journalists asked him to access records showing the calls that had been made to and from the mobile phones belonging to the victims and their relatives.
“His presumption was that they wanted the information so they could hack into the relevant voicemails, just like it has been shown they have done in the UK. The PI said he had to turn the job down. He knew how insensitive such research would be, and how bad it would look.
Because of the wording, it is equally likely that 9/11 victims may not have been hacked. That is now for the FBI to determine.
Notably though, the Daily Mirror report does not find specific evidence but reports someone was asked to do so and turned it down. It’s not a watertight case in other words.
The bigger worry for Murdoch – I think – is that the SEC opens an investigation into whether News Corporation indulged in corruption and bribery.
That is what several Democratic Senators have also called for and I think that line of inquiry would have more legs.
Update:
The respected Columbia Journalism Review also pours cold water over the Daily Mirror story and says its unlikely to lead anywhere. “A piece that triggers an FBI probe reports no actual hacking and its information is third-hand.”
The story will generate some outraged headlines in the US but I suspect it won’t lead anywhere, especially since it all allegedly happened so long ago.
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Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments
I think that the FBI has now opened an investigation may mean a few whistleblowers may appear, one can hope anyway
I really should go to bed, (school run in the a.m) but this latest development has a lot of potential for generating some lively debate. Wether or not they actually got hold of any data from 9/11, if the ex-cop is telling the truth, isnt the act of attempting to do it just as bad?
For an SEC investigation to get anywhere the SEC need to ascertain how payments to police officers were accounted for on the books and whether the payments were a misrepresentation in the accounts. Moreover, they need to prove that investors were misled and gave News Corp an advantage over business rivals. At this stage, NC are probably not too worried abut the US side escalating. However, things could certainly change with more revelations.
This just looks like a pre-emptive strike by the Democrats leading up to 2012. They won’t want Fox reporting fairly and objectively on the election. They want them in the tank the same way the rest of the media is.
There remains no evidence at all that NI has done any such thing.
I’ve changed the headline, reflecting my view that this is now more unlikely to lead anywhere.
Whether it comes to anything or not, every rumour like this will have a negative impact on News Corpse PR and will dent their share price. Ultimately it will be withdrawal of investors as Murdoch’s handling of this proves to be inept that will do for him.
It could conceivably give Murdoch room to spin and wriggle free, since it might be the case that by being able to debunk the 9/11 hacking allegations, he will seek to discredit by assocaiation the (pretty fully evidenced) charges in the UK.
Also, doesn’t your heart sink when you read a sentence containing the terms “9/11″, “FBI” and “truth”, “behind closed doors” and “claims”? Fertle ground for troofers, wingnuts etc, all of whom would muddy the waters utterly, and take the focus away from the heart of the matter?
“The story will generate some outraged headlines in the US but I suspect it won’t lead anywhere, especially since it all allegedly happened so long ago.”
Nope, not at all. Of all the assumptions you make here, Sunny, this is the most facile – 9/11 is still remarkably fresh in the minds of many Americans, as are events surrounding it. The antagonism towards the “ground zero mosque” demonstrates that perfectly, even though it’s actually a cultural centre and streets away from ground zero.
Hacking allegations are unlikely to be treated as trivial just because of the passing of time. Hell, many Americans still bear grudges about the civil war!
Reactions: Twitter, blogs
- Liberal Conspiracy
How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- sunny hundal
How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? I actually think the corruption angle has more legs http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- Liza Harding
How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? I actually think the corruption angle has more legs http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- Claire Butler
RT @libcon How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- Paul Burgin
How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? I actually think the corruption angle has more legs http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- Stephe Meloy
How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- Jill Hayward
How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? I actually think the corruption angle has more legs http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- Bob Moss
How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? I actually think the corruption angle has more legs http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- Deborah Ffrench
How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? I actually think the corruption angle has more legs http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- Deborah Ffrench
How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? I actually think the corruption angle has more legs http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- Nicola Chan
How badly will the FBI investigation hurt Murdoch? http://bit.ly/rmlYU2
- Liberal Conspiracy
Why the FBI investigation into News Corporation is unlikely to go anywhere http://bit.ly/rmlYU2 (from last night)
- sunny hundal
Why the FBI investigation into News Corporation is unlikely to go anywhere http://bit.ly/rmlYU2 (from last night)
- Stew Wilson
Why the FBI investigation into News Corporation is unlikely to go anywhere http://bit.ly/rmlYU2 (from last night)
- Rocki Stone
Why the FBI investigation into News Corporation is unlikely to go anywhere http://bit.ly/rmlYU2 (from last night)
- sunny hundal
Hate to keep repeating this, but the FBI investigation into News Corp is unlikely to go anywhere http://t.co/nFiSxsz
- Rocki Stone
Hate to keep repeating this, but the FBI investigation into News Corp is unlikely to go anywhere http://t.co/nFiSxsz
- The Gaysian
Hate to keep repeating this, but the FBI investigation into News Corp is unlikely to go anywhere http://t.co/nFiSxsz
- Dekionplexis
Hate to keep repeating this, but the FBI investigation into News Corp is unlikely to go anywhere http://t.co/nFiSxsz
- Deborah Ffrench
FBI investigation into News Corp is unlikely to go anywhere:
http://tinyurl.com/6l3krbh - 777MJJ
FBI investigation into News Corp is unlikely to go anywhere:
http://tinyurl.com/6l3krbh - Owen Blacker
Hate to keep repeating this, but the FBI investigation into News Corp is unlikely to go anywhere http://t.co/nFiSxsz
- Liane Roy-Brandt
Why the FBI probe is unlikely to hurt Murdoch | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/2ZtxGhD via @libcon
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