In the wake of News Corp's phone-hacking scandal that has forced the closure of a British tabloid and the resignations of two of Rupert Murdoch's most trusted deputies, lawmakers in the US have called on authorities to investigate the American wing of the company that owns The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal and FOX Broadcasting Company. Now, according to CNN, US Attorney General Eric Holder says he will look into allegations that the shuttered British paper, News of the World, attempted to hack into 9/11 victim's phones. "There have been members of Congress in the United State who have asked us to investigate those same allegations," Holder told reporters, "And we are progressing in the right regard using the appropriate federal agencies in the United States."
A source within the DOJ told the news outlet that if the 9/11 hacking allegations are true, "we'll do what it takes to get answers and run this to the ground." Meanwhile, staffers at the Wall Street Journal continue to be concerned about who will replace Les Hinton, who resigned yesterday as Dow Jones CEO. More specifically, they're worried about who will be installed under Hinton's position as the Editor-in-Chief. The leading candidate seems to be Gerard Baker, a "self-described 'right-wing curmudgeon'" that would offset the impartiality of the candidate for Hinton's job, respected Journal editor Robert Thomson, who would be made Dow Jones' CEO. A Journal source tells the Daily Beast that Baker's elevation would be a "nightmare scenario," and that the other possibility that the Journal will be "spun off" is "very real."
The scandal continues to envelop top levels of the British government, as Prime Minister David Cameron is reported to have met with Murdoch executives—including Rupert Murdoch himself—26 times since taking office in May of 2010. According to the Times, a dairy of one of Cameron's aides revealed that "most of the meetings…took place at the prime minister's London headquarters at 10 Downing Street, or a Chequers, his official country residence northwest of London." Cameron has already taken fire for hiring former News of the World Editor Andy Coulson as a senior aide, and this information all but cements the arguments of Cameron's critics that he's been too chummy with News Corp, especially as they've pushed for the (now collapsed) buyout of BSkyB.
Former Dow Jones CEO Hinton, who worked for Murdoch for more than 50 years, and former News International head and trusted Murdoch confidant Rebekah Brooks will reportedly be paid handsomely for their service. The Daily Mail claims Brooks' severance is $5.6 million, while Hinton will likely be paid in the tens of millions, in exchange for their silence in the matter of course.
