The increasingly sensational scandal enveloping media mogul Rupert Murdoch just made it all the way to the F.B.I. The AP reports, and Murdoch's Wall Street Journal confirms, that the feds have launched an investigation into whether The News of the World tried to hack into the phones of 9/11 victims. The probe was launched this morning, a day after Rep. Peter King joined Democrats in calling for an investigation. Jim McCaffrey, a firefighter who lost his brother-in-law Orio Palmer, also a firefighter, on 9/11, told The Guardian, "If these claims are found to be true I think it's a terrible revelation and very, very upsetting to 9/11 family members."
The Guardian also points out the interesting coincidence that Rupert Murdoch "donated $1m to a pro-business lobby in the US months before the group launched a high-profile campaign to alter the anti-bribery law - the same law that could potentially be brought to bear against News Corporation over the phone-hacking scandal." Damn those lazy lobbyists for not working fast enough, eh Rup? The news of the FBI probe also comes as Murdoch and his son reversed themselves today and agreed to appear before Parliament next week to answer questions about the scandal (after they were issued summonses).
What a week! Murdoch, this is for you (and in Spanish, too!):
