Thread: Former employees claim James Murdoch misled British parliame

Former employees claim James Murdoch misled British parliament

By Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - James Murdoch gave "mistaken" testimony to a British parliamentary committee, two senior ex-News of the World executives said on Thursday, the most direct accusation made so far against News Corp's heir apparent in a phone-hacking scandal.

Murdoch said he stood behind his testimony to the committee, which had asked what he knew of a scandal that has forced senior News Corp executives and two senior police chiefs to quit and raised questions over press barons' influence on politicians.

The statement by Tom Crone, the British news group's top legal officer until last week, and Colin Myler, editor of the News of the World tabloid until it was shut down earlier this month, was the first open challenge by former senior executives of Rupert Murdoch's global media empire.

"I stand behind my testimony to the Select Committee," James Murdoch said in response to the assertion by Myler and Crone that they told him of an email from a News of the World reporter to "Neville" containing transcripts of hacked voicemails.

Neville Thurlbeck was chief reporter on the weekly when it published a story about English soccer executive Gordon Taylor. Murdoch later approved a large payout to Taylor, but told the committee this week he had not been in possession of all the facts when he approved it.

The phone-hacking scandal has led News Corp, Rupert Murdoch's global media empire, to drop its $12 billion bid for the 61 percent of pay-TV broadcaster BSkyB it does not own after public revulsion over allegations that dead soldiers' families and a missing schoolgirl were among those whose voicemails were hacked.

MURDOCH "NOT AWARE"

During three hours of questioning on Tuesday, James Murdoch, News Corp's deputy chief operating officer, was asked by lawmaker Tom Watson: "Did you see or were you made aware of the full Neville email, the transcript of the hacked voicemail messages?"

"No, I was not aware of that at the time," Murdoch told the committee, adding he was only aware of "key facts and evidence" that came to light at the end of 2010 when detectives re-launched a probe into phone-hacking and allegations that reporters had bribed police officers.

An initial police inquiry led to the jailing of a News of the World reporter and a private detective in 2007.

British police are now investigating allegations that about 4,000 people had their phones hacked by journalists from the News of the World -- among them politicians and celebrities as well as a missing schoolgirl, later found murdered, and families of victims of the 2005 London bombings.

Crone and Myler said in their statement: "Just by way of clarification relating to Tuesday's CMS Select Committee hearing, we would like to point out that James Murdoch's recollection of what he was told when agreeing to settle the Gordon Taylor litigation was mistaken.

"In fact, we did inform him of the 'for Neville' email which had been produced to us by Gordon Taylor's lawyers."

Watson, reacting to the two men's statement, told the Independent newspaper: "If these allegations are true, you can only reach the conclusion that James Murdoch misled parliament."

John Whittingdale, chairman of the committee, said lawmakers could push Murdoch for clarification.

"I haven't seen the statement but if it is the case that Colin Myler and Tom Crone are in conflict on a serious issue then that is a matter we would want to obtain a response from James Murdoch on," he told Reuters.

"James Murdoch has already said he will provide written evidence on other issues and we could ask for this to be clarified this way."

ANOTHER EXECUTIVE SAID SACKED

In a sign of further turmoil at News Corp, the BBC reported on Thursday that a senior executive at the News of the World's sister paper, The Sun, had been sacked for matters relating to his previous job at the News of the World.

Sun features editor Matt Nixson, previously deputy features editor at the News of the World, was marched out of the building that houses all News Corp's London newspapers, a senior journalist from Murdoch broadsheet the Times of London tweeted.

"Understand at one time Nixson worked on NOTW news desk under Ian Edmondson and Andy Coulson," the Times's Assistant News Editor David Rose wrote on his Twitter feed.

Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World, went on to become Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief until he resigned in January.

He denies any knowledge of hacking but his connection to the investigation has encouraged the opposition Labour party to question Cameron's judgment in employing him and provoked questions about Cameron's relations with News Corp.

(Additional reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: Reuters US Online Report Top News

Mochila insert follows...

Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/21/f ... arliament/

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Justice Department Prepares Subpoenas in News Corp. Inquiry

Wall Street Journal
By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO,DEVLIN BARRETT and DANA CIMILLUCA

The U.S. Justice Department is preparing subpoenas as part of preliminary investigations into News Corp. relating to alleged foreign bribery and alleged hacking of voicemail of Sept. 11 victims, according to a government official.

The issuance of such subpoenas, which would broadly seek relevant information from the company, requires approval by senior Justice Department leadership, which hasn't yet happened, the person said.

The issuance of subpoenas would represent an escalation of scrutiny on the New York-based media company. While the company has sought to isolate the legal problems in the U.K., it has been bracing for increased scrutiny from both the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with the company's strategy.

The Justice Department has said it is looking into allegations that News Corp.'s now-defunct News of the World weekly in the U.K. paid bribes to British police. It has been unclear whether the Justice Department or the SEC have begun formal probes.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation separately has begun an inquiry into whether News Corp. employees tried to hack into voice mails of Sept. 11 victims, people familiar with the early-stage probe have said.

A person close to News Corp. said the preparation of subpoenas is "a fishing expedition with no evidence to support it."

News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal.

Commenting on the FBI inquiry, a News Corp. spokeswoman said: "We have not seen any evidence to suggest there was any hacking of 9/11 victim's phones, nor has anybody corroborated what are clearly very serious allegations. The story arose when an unidentified person speculated to the Daily Mirror about whether it happened. That paper printed the anonymous speculation, which has since mushroomed in the broader media with no substantiation."

The spokeswoman also said the company hasn't seen any "indication of a connection or similarity between the events, allegations and practices being investigated in the U.K. and News Corp's U.S. properties."

News Corp. and its recently bolstered legal team expect a possible broad investigation by the Justice Department into whether the alleged bribes paid to British police violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, according to the people familiar with the company's strategy. The law is typically used to pursue charges against companies that bribe foreign officials to give them business contracts.

News Corp.'s team also is anticipating a possible FCPA-related investigation by the SEC, the people said. The SEC also could examine News Corp.'s prior disclosures, one of the people said. By law, companies must adequately alert investors to potential litigation or business pitfalls on the horizon.

A spokesman for the SEC declined to comment.

The company's U.K. newspaper unit, News International, has declined to comment on the alleged bribes, citing an ongoing police investigation. Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks said in testimony to Parliament Tuesday that she had "never knowingly sanctioned a payment to a police officer."

U.K. police are conducting two parallel investigations into News Corp.'s now-closed News of the World, which is at the heart of the British scandal. One is related to allegations of illegal voice-mail interception and was opened in January; the other stems from allegations of police bribery. In addition, the company is facing a raft of civil suits. The U.K. government, meanwhile, plans at least two public inquiries.

For the Justice Department and the SEC to pursue News Corp. in the U.S. for allegedly bribing British policemen, the agencies would have to rely on a broad interpretation of the FCPA, legal experts say.

Another possible infraction investigators could examine: whether any payments were improperly accounted for in the company's books and records.

In recent days, News Corp. has hired an expert in the FCPA, Mark Mendelsohn, to advise it, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Mendelsohn, a partner in the Washington office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, couldn't be reached for comment.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 21896.html

The Murdoch Empire: How media shapes society
http://www.alipac.us/ftopic-244252-0-da ... rasc-.html

Fast forward this video to 4:33. At that point, Murdoch is pressed into answering HOW MUCH HE INFLUENCED THE INVASION OF IRAQ. He even implicates George Bush.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... ODA#at=350