F.B.I. Opens Inquiry Into Hacking of 9/11 Victims
William K. Rashbaum for The New York Times:
In response to requests from members of Congress and to at least one news report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York opened a preliminary inquiry on Thursday into allegations that News Corporation journalists sought to gain access to the phone records of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to several people briefed on the matter.
The investigation is in its earliest stages, two of the people said, and its scope is not yet clear. It also is unclear whether the F.B.I. has identified possible targets of the investigation or possible specific criminal violations.
…
The inquiry was prompted in part by a letter from Representative Peter T. King, a Long Island Republican, to Robert S. Mueller III, the F.B.I. director, in which he asked that the bureau immediately open an investigation of News Corporation, citing news reports that journalists working for its subsidiary, The News of the World, had tried to obtain the phone records of 9/11 victims through bribery and unauthorized wiretapping, the people said.
I left the sarcastic “‘rule of law’” tag off of this post because it appears the justice system may be working. It’s way too early to tell if anything will come of this, let alone what the effects will be on News Corporation, which includes Fox, The Wall Street Journal, etc.
I am glad we’re stepping into this one. “Inexcusable” is far too weak a word for this whole mess, and I support getting all hands on deck to sort it out.