News of the World is accused of hacking phones of 9/11 victims Murdoch journalists 'wanted phone records of British victims'
Do we look bovvered?
News of the World reporters tried to hack the voicemails of dead 9/11 victims, a former New York policeman claimed last night.
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.
The former cop, who now works as a private investigator, said that reporters wanted British victim’s mobile numbers and details of calls in the days surrounding the tragedy.
The voicemails are likely to have included harrowing messages from distraught relatives desperately trying to contact their loved ones in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York in 2001.
A source told the Daily Mirror: '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.'
The source said that the journalists were interested in getting the phone records belonging to the British victims of the attacks.
Rupert Murdoch has abandoned his bid to buy the whole of BSkyB. News Corporation announced that it was withdrawing its bid only a few hours before the start of a debate that will see all three major parties supporting a motion saying that the bid would not be "in the public interest".
News Corporation said it had decided to retreat because the bid was "too difficult to progress in this climate". This is a huge setback for Murdoch that illustrates the extraordinary damage done to his corporate reputation by the phone hacking affair since the revelations about Milly Dowler propelled the story to the top of the news agenda. News Corporation sees its future in TV and by 2015 BSkyB is expected to be making annual profits of £1.7bn. Owning the whole of BSkyB would also have given Murdoch the opportunity to bundle satellite services with newspapers services in a way which would have strengthened the position of the News International titles. There seems very little chance of Murdoch launching a fresh bid until all the phone hacking investigations are over. But News Corporation is not selling its existing stake in BSkyB and there is nothing to stop Murdoch launching a fresh point at some point in the future.
Rockefeller Asks Feds to Investigate U.S. Impact of Murdochgate Lawmakers see U.S. privacy of Murdochgate as key concern
By Katy Bachman on July 13, 2011
Congress is starting to weigh in on Murdochgate, following speculative reports in London's Daily Mirror [1] that the News Corp. phone hacking practices in the U.K. may have extended to 9/11 victims.
But rather than suggest that Congress [2] hold hearings to look it, Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, which would have oversight over the matter, issued a statement calling on others to investigate the scandal.
"I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated," Rockefeller said in a statement. "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."
Rockefeller's announcement echoes Think Progress, a project of former President Clinton chief of staff John Podesta's Center for American Progress, which earlier in the day started a petition calling for an investigation and sent letters to Attorney General Eric Holder and SEC Chair Mary Shapiro "demanding a full and immediate investigation into any potential illegal acts by News Corporation and their subsidies." Rockefeller's announcement also taps in to the larger concerns about privacy that have been a hot topic in Congress this year.
Though some have suggested that the Federal Communications Commission get involved [3], that is unlikely to happen any time soon. "That's a U.K. process and I don't expect we will be involved in that," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told reporters following the commission's monthly meeting Tuesday. "The media bureau here will do their job should any issue arise."
UPDATE
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, added his voice to Rockefeller's Wednesday morning, urging DOJ and SEC to examine whether or not U.S.-based News Corp. violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it illegal for a U.S. company to pay foreign officials to obtain or retain business. "Further investigation may reveal that current reports only scratch the surface of the problem at News Corporation," Lautenberg wrote in his letter to regulators.
by jingo - I wonder what Fox News will say about that? Being fair and balanced they would have an opinion surely?
9/11 families call for U.S. probe of Murdoch
By: Elias Groll
July 13, 2011 12:34 PM EDT
Angry family members of victims of the 9/11 attacks and a growing number of lawmakers on Wednesday called for a U.S. investigation into allegations that journalists at the British News of the World tabloid sought to hack the phones of their lost love ones. “Someone should look into it to see if their rights were violated – the family members I’ve talked to are appalled, they’re disgruntled, they have to relive the pain all over again,” Jim Riches, a former deputy chief in the New York Fire Department whose 29-year-old fireman son was killed in the attacks, told POLITICO. “I think they crossed the line. They’re trying to get messages from loved ones in the last moments of their lives. It’s horrible, and they should be held accountable. It’s despicable and unethical,” Riches added.
Sally Regenhard, vice chairwoman of 9/11 Parents and Families of Firefighters & World Trade Center Victims, said that she also supports an American probe and added that the latest allegations come at a particularly hard time for victims’ families.. “It’s hard enough for people to deal with the 10th anniversary and now this – it just adds more salt to the wounds,” said Regenhard, who lost her 28-year-old firefighter son, on Sept. 11. “If it’s true, then it’s an egregious violation of decency and respect. Whether it’s 9/11 victims or the British victim – the child who was kidnapped – I think we really need to look at national and international standards for security for privacy for this type of thing,” Regenhard added. “We need to put a hold on this no matter who it is.”
Meanwhile, an increasing number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill are now pushing for an investigation. With many of the 9/11 victims having been New Jersey residents, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) called on the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to look into the conduct of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. “The limited information already reported in this case raises serious questions about the legality of the conduct of News Corporation and its subsidiaries under the [Foreign Corrupt Practices Act],” Lautenberg wrote. “Further investigation may reveal that current reports only scratch the surface of the problem at News Corporation.”
Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro urging their respective agencies to probe whether employees of News Corp. subsidiaries attempted to bribe British police and whether Americans’ phones may have been hacked. “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 senators wrote in the letter. In a separate letter, Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) also called for a DOJ investigation. Laura Sweeney, a DOJ spokesperson, said that the department would review the letters but declined further comment.
The 9/11 hacking allegations first surfaced in a report in the British newspaper, the Daily Mirror. The paper said journalists at the News of the World approached a New York private investigator and tried to buy phone records of victims from him. The investigator, who had been a cop, allegedly declined to provide the records.
Joined: 08 Mar 2010 Location: Pembrokeshire (Wales)
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:48 pm Post subject:
A proportion of scousers boycotting The Sun hardly constitutes a latent condemnation of the reprehensible antics of News International; BB getting two and two to make five in that article.
What puzzles me is the constant media attention the scumbag in charge of The Sun at the time seems to get, Kelvin McKenzie pops up as a commentator regularly, especially at the BBC. As far as I'm concerned the obnoxious cunt should be boiled in his own blood!
A proportion of scousers boycotting The Sun hardly constitutes a latent condemnation of the reprehensible antics of News International; BB getting two and two to make five in that article.
What puzzles me is the constant media attention the scumbag in charge of The Sun at the time seems to get, Kelvin McKenzie pops up as a commentator regularly, especially at the BBC. As far as I'm concerned the obnoxious cunt should be boiled in his own blood!
McKenzie is a cunt of the very highest order - was on Question Time about a year ago and was so insulting to Scots that if he had spoken that way about a religious or racial group he would have been lifted for a hate crime.
A particularly odious and vile scumbag. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if he (and Murdoch together) brought in the culture of hacking and tapping to NI that pervades it now.
Phone hacking: Murdoch defends handling of crisis
bbc.co.uk
15th July 2011
News Corporation's chairman Rupert Murdoch says his company has handled the phone-hacking crisis "extremely well" and will recover. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said it would establish an independent committee to "investigate every charge of improper conduct". Earlier he and son James agreed to appear before MPs to answer questions on the scandal on Tuesday. The men initially declined to appear before the Commons media committee.
In the interview with the US paper, which is owned by News Corp, Mr Murdoch said he wanted to address "some of the things that have been said in Parliament, some of which are total lies". He said: "We think it's important to absolutely establish our integrity in the eyes of the public... I felt that it's best just to be as transparent as possible." But he insisted the damage to his company was "nothing that will not be recovered". He said he acted appropriately and quickly: "When I hear something going wrong, I insist on it being put right." Mr Murdoch also rejected criticism that James Murdoch had acted too slowly in dealing with the tabloid scandal. "I think he acted as fast as he could, the moment he could," he said.
The second largest shareholder in News Corp told BBC Two's Newsnight that Rebekah Brooks should leave her position as News International chief executive in the event that she is shown to have been involved in phone-hacking. Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal Alsaud, who owns 7% of News Corp, said: "You bet she has to go. Ethics to me are very important. But he defended Rupert and James Murdoch, saying: "Speaking of my dealings with them there has been nothing but high ethics for the past 20 years."
Neil Wallis, ex-News of the World executive editor, was arrested on Thursday morning on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications. Mr Wallis, also a former member of the Editors' Code of Practice Committee, is the ninth person to have been arrested since the Metropolitan Police launched a fresh phone-hacking investigation in January.
In the US, it is being reported that the FBI is investigating alleged hacking of the phones of 9/11 victims by the News of the World. A growing group of senators and a senior Republican congressman have been calling for the authorities to investigate the allegations. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who wrote to the attorney general to urge an investigation, said the claims newspapers sought to "exploit information about... personal tragedies for profit" needed to be probed.
'Serious questions'
On Tuesday this week, the UK's Commons culture, media and sport committee invited the Murdochs and News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks to give evidence at the House of Commons about the phone-hacking scandal. In a statement, the MPs said that serious questions had arisen about the evidence Mrs Brooks and Andy Coulson, both of them former News of the World editors, gave at a previous hearing in 2003. The Murdochs agreed to give evidence after receiving summonses from the committee. Earlier in the day they had said they were unavailable to attend. The summonses were the first to be issued by a parliamentary select committee for almost 20 years, since the sons of the late newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell were ordered to appear in 1992.
Meanwhile, on Thursday evening, London mayor Boris Johnson met Met Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, to discuss the hiring of Neil Wallis as a consultant for the force, for which the journalist was paid £24,000. Home Secretary Theresa May has written to Sir Paul to get the "full picture" on the circumstances surrounding his appointment. The Home Affairs Select Committee has also written to ask him to give further evidence on the matter next Tuesday. As part of the contract, Mr Wallis advised the Commissioner's Office, and the Directorate of Public Affairs and Specialist Operations, working closely with Assistant Commissioner John Yates.
Meanwhile, the family of a Brazilian man shot dead by police in London in 2005 has called for the News Corp phone-hacking investigation to be widened. In a letter to PM David Cameron, Jean Charles de Menezes' relatives say the actions of police who investigated Mr Menezes' death should be probed.
Mr Cameron has asked Lord Justice Leveson to oversee a public inquiry into the News of the World scandal and media regulation. The inquiry will be in two parts - an investigation of wrongdoing in the press and the police, and a review of regulation in the press.
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He would say that wouldn't he? I am moving soon and the option of getting a Sky sub for telly et al is getting dimmer by the day.
FBI to investigate News Corporation over 9/11 hacking allegations Bureau to investigate claims News of the World journalists sought to hack into phone of victims of 9/11, reports say
The FBI has opened an investigation into allegations that News of the World journalists tried to hack into the phones of victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York.
The investigation, first revealed by Associated Press, will be handled by the FBI's New York office. It follows allegations published by the Mirror newspaper that journalists employed by the News of the World approached a private detective in New York and asked him to hack into the private phone data of 9/11 victims.
According to the Mirror, the private detective refused to do the job.
Peter King, the Republican chairman of the homeland security committee in the House of Representatives, on Wednesday wrote to the director of the FBI, Robert Mueller, and asked him to open an investigation into the 9/11 allegations.
Jim McCaffrey, a New York firefighter who lost his brother-in-law Orio Palmer, also a firefighter, on 9/11, welcomed the FBI inquiry. "If these claims are found to be true I think it's a terrible revelation and very, very upsetting to 9/11 family members," he said.
Even if the information could be verified, there might be a problem with moving forward with an investigation because the events were so long ago. Several legal experts, including a former top lawyer for the FBI, told the Guardian that prosecution under federal wiretapping laws is subject to a five-year statute of limitations.
The FBI's New York office did not immediately comment. There was no immediate response to a phone message left for News Corp. The US attorney's office in Manhattan referred a call to the Department of Justice, which declined immediate comment also.
Neil Wallis, a former News of the World executive editor, became the seventh person arrested by Scotland Yard relating to the inquiry into phone hacking at the now-defunct tabloid, whose closure was seen as an attempt to keep alive a bid for the highly profitable network BSkyB.
i wasn't going to post anymore in this, because theres just so much you could post - i mean theres been 4 people quitting in about 4 days! - but the death today of the major whistle blower and the 'No suspicious circumstances' even when they don't know how he died yet, seems mighty weird ...
Death of Sean Hoare
The best whistleblower so far from inside News International has just been found dead. Hertfordshire Police, either incredibly stupid or incredibly corrupt, have just been quoted on Sky News as saying there are “No suspicious circumstances”.
Whaether this is a convenient heart attack or a Kelly type “suicide” remains to be seen. Maybe the Met mistook him for a suicide bomber and pumped several shots into his head. With the exception of Kelly, this is possibly the most suspicious death of my lifetime. “No suspicious circumstances”. WTF!!
Sean Hoare’s testimony that Andy Coulson knew of individual phone hacking operations is pretty well certain to be true. I have written many times for national newspapers, and wherever I have written disparagingly about anybody, I have had to give my evidence. I have even, for example, been called in actually to meet the legal advisers at the Mail and discuss my evidence. The idea that journalists were not telling Coulson where they got their stories, or for what purpose they were laying out tens of thousands of pounds, is simply not practically possible. Same goes for the period when Rebekah was editor.
Sean Hoare’s testimony was plainly, absolutely true. His death discourages other whistleblowers a bit, doesn’t it? If the inquiries into News International are going to have any credibility, they are going to need a witness protection programme – from which the Met are totally excluded.
11.37pm: A News International spokeswoman has confirmed to the Press Association that the company was "aware" of what was happening, but made no further comment.
11.28pm: Visitors to www.thesun.co.uk are now being directed to LulzSec's twitter feed, 'The Lulz Boat'.
11.01pm: The hacking of the Sun's website appears to have claimed by Lulzsec.
The hacker group has attacked several high-profile websites over the last two months but announced last month that it is disbanding. The group has carried out attacks on companies such as Sony and Nintendo.
The Sun's website has now been taken down. Here is a screen grab we took earlier however:
10.40pm: The Sun's website appears to have hacked. 'Media moguls body discovered' reads the 'new' front page.
and from their twitter page;
So News International released this AMAZING statement on The Sun: http://t.co/0J4qLZU We improved it for them though!
WE HAVE JOY WE HAVE FUN, WE HAVE MESSED UP MURDOCH'S SUN
Oh, we forgot to mention that we sailed over to News International and wrecked them too. Nearing 300,000 followers... full steam ahead!
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