Exposed: The Murdochs’ News Of The World Scandal Grows

When a fish is rotten and stinks the odor often starts at the head. The Murdochs will likely be called back to clarify their "testimony" either before the British Parliament or before another less pliant arena. The first time around Rupert Mudoch invoked his daddy’s name; at 80, his new spin may soon be "ill health."

[Black Star News Editorial]

Two former Rupert Murdoch employees now say the younger Murdoch, James, lied in his testimony before the British Parliamentary committee when he testified this week that he didn’t know the hacking scandal involved merely one “rogue” The News of The World reporter.

This confirms a suspicion we explored in our earlier editorial Wednesday. We wrote that the Murdochs’ testimony was “preposterous” and we added: “How is it possible that the Murdoch duo didn’t know the extent of the back door journalism when, as reported, millions of dollars were paid to settle cases with victims of the hacking and interceptions of calls and messages? One victim alone was reportedly paid nearly $800,000 while two others shared $1.2 million. How is it possible that the Murdoch duo did not know when several fired Murdoch employees are still being paid in order to hush up about what they know?”

We also wrote: “Does any one in her or his right mind believe that The News of The World’s reporters, and top editors such as now dismissed
Rebekah Brooks who most recently was a senior official at News International, could on their own volition and authority engage in hacking people’s phones, intercepting messages, and bribing police officials, without the consent of the head of the empire?”

Well the answer was provided yesterday. Tom Crone, a former lawyer for Murdoch’s The News of The World, and Colin Myler, a former editor of
The News of The World and at one time of The New York Post, released a joint statement saying that in 2008 they both informed James Murdoch, who today is News Corp.’s deputy chief operating officer that the illegal hacking involved more than one “rogue” reporter. What’s more, Clive Goodman, a former News of The World reporter who served prison time for hacking and was later fired by the newspaper later internally
filed a wrongful dismissal claim, alleging that other reporters at the company engaged in the practice, according to an article in today’s
Wall Street Journal. The News of The World later settled with Goodman.

James Murdoch, in response to the statement by Crone and Myler refuting his presentation before the U.K. Parliament, issued a statement saying, “I stand by my testimony.” This is likely not to be sufficient defense and we won’t be surprised at all if more information linking both James and Rupert to the scandal emerges very quickly. To begin with, it’s not believable that James would approve the settlements amounting to millions of dollars without the advice of lawyers who knew the extent of the possible fallout of the illegal hackings, which suggests that more than one “rogue” reporter was involved. It’s also not believable that James and the lawyers would conceal such information from Rupert, who is
reported to be a micro-manager.

Another interesting development involves Glenn Mulcaire, a former private investigator on the Murdoch’s payroll who was involved in illegal hacking to obtain information for The News of The World. He and a News of The World reporter served prison time in 2007 for hacking into the phones of the British Royal family. Since emerging from prison, Mulcaire hasn’t divulged what he knows to the media. This is because he faces several dozen lawsuits and News Corp. has been paying his legal expenses. The Murdochs’ were asked about this arrangement during their Parliamentary testimony. Shortly later, News Corp. announced that it would no longer be paying Mulcaire’s expenses.

Unless a mountain of money was deposited somewhere for Mulcaire, he and his associates will likely spill the beans. During his testimony before Parliament, Rupert Murdoch invoked the memory of his father, Keith Murdoch. The father, an Australian publisher,  exposed the Gallipoli military debacle in which Allied troops in World War I were annihilated supposedly due to inept command and he became famous, making his name in journalism.

Rupert Murdoch, on the other hand,  is more identified with Right Wing attack journalism, gutter journalism, and hostility towards African Americans. The New York Post demonized the Central Park 5, the Black teenagers who were falsely accused of and wrongfully convicted of
raping a White female jogger in Central Park. The youth, in the pages of The Post were accused of “wilding” and all served long jail sentences.

They were later exonerated by DNA evidence and the confessions of the actual rapist. More recently, Murdoch’s New York Post reported that Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s alleged sexual attack victim was a prostitute. The alleged victim promptly sued The Post and The Washington Post also poked holes into the “story.”

The Murdochs’ woes may just be starting–according to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal –also owned by Murdoch– the U.S. Department of Justice is also preparing subpoenas “related to foreign bribery and alleged hacking of voicemail of Sept. 11 victims, according to a government official.” In the U.K. Murdoch’s company didn’t reveal to Parliament until this week that it had emails showing evidence of bribing British police by its employees.

When a fish is rotten and stinks the odor often starts at the head. The Murdochs will likely be called back to clarify their “testimony” either before the British Parliament or before another less pliant arena. The first time around Rupert Mudoch invoked his daddy’s name; at 80, his new spin may soon be “ill health.”

 
“Speaking Truth To Empower.”

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