bapifar01: News Corp. scandal roundup

Friday, 22 July 2011

News Corp. scandal roundup

Was James Murdoch being truthful? (Reuters TV)

Lots of small bits of news happening today. Small, but potentially important, as the scandal continues to widen.

Two News of the World executives disputed James Murdoch's testimony at his Tuesday appearance before a committee of Parliament. This might turn out to be quite a big deal?at issue is whether Murdoch knew of explosive evidence regarding the larger scale of company hacking operations when he was cutting a check for one of the more prominent victims:
Murdoch, chairman of News Corp's UK newspaper arm News International, said on Tuesday he had not been aware of an email that contained transcripts of hacked voicemails when he agreed to a large out-of-court settlement with a victim of the hacking.
Former News of the World paper editor Colin Myler and News International's former chief legal adviser cast doubt on his account on Thursday, the first time that it has been publicly suggested that Murdoch was aware of the scale of the problem at earlier date that he has previously admitted.

The chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which quizzed James Murdoch and his father Rupert about the phone-hacking scandal, said he would seek clarification about the latest allegation.

Yes. "Clarification".
Another executive fired.
Greg Miskiw, a prominent name in the scandal, is returning to Britain from the U.S. "voluntarily" to answer police questions.
Now facing an FBI investigation, the lawyering up continues at News Corp. Previously, the board of directors hired outside counsel: now the company has hired a former Justice Department official "well-versed in U.S. bribery law" as well as other top names.
Fox News loves polls. Well, here's one: Americans overwhelmingly believe similar hacking occurred in the U.S. and that it should be investigated.
Claims by an ex-Fox News managing editor that Fox has a closely-guarded "black ops" room continue to gain publicity in light of the current scandal. He says he was one of the ones who "helped design" it: Fox News continues to say it doesn't exist, and that he's just a disgruntled ex-staffer.
See also this article explaining News Corp's "other" hacking scandal in the U.S. They settled the case for over half a billion dollars, and the person in charge of the division at the time, Paul Carlucci, is now the publisher of Murdoch's New York Post.
The hacked company notified a U.S. Attorney asking for an investigation, but got "no response." That U.S. Attorney? Chris Christie, now the governor of New Jersey. The number of names being sucked into this scandal seems to have no end, at this point.