Boxer, Rockefeller Call for DOJ, SEC Investigation into Whether News Corporation Broke U.S. Laws in Phone Hacking Scandal

Senators Urge Inquiry into Whether Alleged Bribes of Police Officials May Have Violated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, called on Attorney General Eric Holder and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro to investigate whether News Corporation, which is incorporated in the United States, violated United States law in allegedly bribing police officials to gain access to private telephone information and records.

The allegations, if true, may constitute a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corrupt payments intended to influence any act or decision of a foreign official.

Additionally, there are troubling reports that News Corporation may have illegally accessed phone records of victims of the 9/11 attacks, and the Senators urged authorities to investigate whether any United States citizens had their privacy violated by this alleged hacking.

In the letter, Senators Boxer and Rockefeller wrote: “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 full text of the Senators’ letter is below:

July 13, 2011

The Honorable Eric H. Holder
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

The Honorable Mary L. Schapiro
Chairman
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549

Dear Attorney General Holder and Chairman Schapiro:

We write to request that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission investigate whether News Corporation, a U.S.-based corporation, has violated United States law - specifically the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (15 U.S.C. §§78dd-1, et seq.)

As you know, senior officials of News Corporation subsidiaries have recently been arrested on allegations that they bribed members of London’s Metropolitan Police to gain access to private information. If these allegations are true, they may constitute a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corrupt payments intended to influence any act or decision of a foreign official.

There have also been allegations that News Corporation employees may have illegally accessed the phone records of victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001. We urge you to investigate whether any United States citizens had their privacy violated by this alleged hacking.

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.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

John D. Rockefeller, IV
United States Senator