U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Friday that federal investigators are following up on requests from several members of Congress to investigate Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., and its reported hacking of cell-phone accounts and bribes to police.
"There have been serious allegations raised in that regard in Great Britain; there is an ongoing investigation," Holder told reporters while on a trip to Sydney.
"There have been members of Congress in the United States who have asked us to investigate those same allegations. And we are progressing in that regard, using the appropriate federal agencies in the United States."
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., was the latest to join the outcry, issuing a statement on Friday that the Democratic staff of the House Judiciary Committee will review the accusations – noting that News Corp. is a U. S. corporation with international operations.
“With every day, the allegations against News Corp. grow more extensive and more disturbing,” Conyers said in the statement. “Last week, we learned that News of the World—a British tabloid published by a News Corp. subsidiary—hacked into the voicemail of a British teenager who was abducted and murdered in 2002. This revelation follows reports that the tabloid, which maintained a bureau in Hollywood, had for years illegally intercepted the voicemail messages of private individuals residing in the United States,” Conyers added.
“Now it has been reported that News of the World approached a New York City police officer and asked him to obtain and provide the phone records of victims of the attacks on our country on September 11, 2001.”
One of News Corp’s executives, Rebekah Brooks, and Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton both resigned on Friday.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., asked FBI Director Robert Mueller to investigate.
News Corp. said on Thursday that it had no comment on the FBI investigation or the possibility of congressional hearings, but the 80-year-old Murdoch said on Friday that he plans to runs advertisements to apologize.
"We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred," the ads will read, according to CNN. "We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by the individuals affected."
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