Phone hacking scandal deepens

[Ed Jewett]

Is News Corp Finished - Senator Rockefeller Tells Feds to Investigate Fox Hacking of 9/11 Victims

July 13th, 2011


There are some crimes so universally offensive that even mentioning the suspected crime has devastating effects. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) raised just such a question yesterday. In a brief press statement, the Senator said:

"The reported hacking by News Corporation newspapers against a range of individuals - including children - is offensive and a serious breach of journalistic ethics. This raises serious questions about whether the company has broken U.S. law, and I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated. I am concerned that the admitted phone hacking in London by the News Corp. may have extended to 9/11 victims or other Americans. If they did, the consequences will be severe." Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, July 12 (Image: NASA)

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has used voicemail hacking and other forms of privacy intrusion in the United Kingdom as far back as 2002. The goal is to get the most intimate insider information, stay ahead of the news cycle, and beat the competition. Where better to get information than the voicemails and other electronic data belonging to those in the news. The News of the World, Murdoch's flagship paper, hacked the voicemails of a kidnapped 12 year old, the widows of fallen soldiers, and even the powerful. In 2006, the Murdoch papers invaded the private medical records of former Labour Party leader Gordon Brown.

A July 4 article by Nick Davies of the Guardian ignited the most recent focus on illegal actions by the Murdoch papers with the revelation about the phone hack of the 12 year old kidnapping-murder victim, Milly Fowler. The outrage and subsequent revelations have laid waste to News Corporations plans for the total acquisition of a highly successful pay per view entertainment network, BSkyB.

Rockefeller's statement comes just five days after reports by London's Daily Mirror claiming that a Murdoch UK paper sought hacking services targeting the phone traffic and voicemails of 9/11 victims. Davida Collins of the Mirror wrote:

"This investigator is used by a lot of journalists in America and he recently told me that he was asked to hack into the 9/11 victims' private phone data. He said that the journalists asked him to access records showing the calls that had been made to and from the mobile phones belonging to the victims and their relatives." Daily Mirror, July 7

The yet to be verified source said that the investigator making the inquires was particularly interested in the phone data on British 9/11 victims.

John Del Signore of The Gothamist said this of the Mirror's reporting: "Of course, this has only been reported in The Mirror, which is reveling in its rival's downfall, and eager to see Murdoch's bid for full control of British Sky Broadcasting go down in flames."

Senator Rockefeller is a long standing member of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee and was its chairman from 2007 through 2009. It's not likely that he relied on the Daily Mirror newspaper to form the basis for his concerns. It is highly unlikely that Rockefeller issued this brief but potent release without some evidence that the charges have merit. At this point, the Senator is just asking questions, in a public and very pointed way.

Rockefeller is not known for grandstanding or histrionics, although he can be very forthright at times. He chaired the Senate intelligence committee when it released a report on intelligence before the Iraq invasion, Rockefeller said:

"In making the case for war, the Administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even non-existent. As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed." Senate Intelligence Committee Unveils Final Phase II Reports on Prewar Iraq Intelligence June 5, 2008

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse! Richard III

Murdoch will need more than a horse to retreat from the bloody battlefield that he created of his own free will. During the just ten days following the explosive Guardian report on phone hacking by Murdoch's News of the World, he has sustained repeated attacks on his UK media properties, pending deals, and his personal integrity. Now a senior, well connected US Senator is questioning his integrity.

Last week, the man Murdoch helped elect Prime Minister, David Cameron, indirectly defended Murdoch, then abandon him yesterday. PM Cameron took just two days to agree with the July 7 motion in Parliament to oppose Murdoch's "must have" acquisition of pay cable giant BSkyB. The PM's surrender is all the more significant since it was put forward by his harshest critic, Labour Party leader Ed Miliband.

All the while, the evidence of sleazy and scandalous behavior of the Murdoch papers has expanded geometrically.

Rockefeller's statement is the harbinger of corporate death. Every time a real reporter is within shouting distance of Murdoch, the questions will be asked

"Mr. Murdoch, sir:"

Did you hack the phones or other media of 9/11 victims?

How many?

What possessed you to do that?

How many other invasions of privacy have the foot soldiers for your media empire conducted?

Is anyone safe from the spying of News Corporation?

Murdoch's answers matter less than the fact that Senator Rockefeller's statement opens the door to devastating inquiries. Increasingly, Murdoch will be seen as a toxic entity, someone requiring great distance, a Uriah Heep of the corporate elite. He's simply not bankable anymore or fit for civil company.

But at long last, Murdoch has no shame. That requires a moral center, a set of beliefs consistent with the importance and integrity of civil discourse and governance.

Murdoch has inflicted great pain on the world and never flinched, never apologized. He is, after all, the owner of Fox News. Murdoch worked hand in hand with former President George W. Bush to justify the invasion of Iraq. Many who believe Saddam Hussein was behind the 9/11 attacks got that information from the drumbeat of misinformation provided by Murdoch's US media outlets.

The war cost lives, caused suffering, and has a lot to do with bankrupting the nation. It also cost the lives of a million Iraqi civilians who died in the civil strife directly caused by the war.

Murdoch never apologized for his central role of supporting the Iraq invasion or for the needless death and carnage that followed. Why would he apologize for hacking phones to invade the lives of innocent citizens caught in a big news story or those at the top of society and politics. His character is now his destiny.

END

This article may be reproduced entirely or in part with attribution of authorship and a link to this article.

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voic...rockefelle

[Ed Jewett]

Why Would Rupert Murdoch Want Victims' Pre-9/11 Phone Records?

http://wtcdemolition.com/blog/node/3266

[Jan Klimkowski]

There's wheat and there's chaff and there's geopolitics.....

It's possible that the Murdoch crime family, and its consigliere such as Les Hinton and Rebekah Wade/Brooks, may soon be sleeping with the fishes. Or at least smelling like them.

There are also intelligence and elite interests at play here.

The Murdoch crime family are hired guns. High profile Facilitators with access to newsrooms and garages and lockups full of Mechanics.

Who is turning the screw in the USofA?

Well, one Senator Jay Rockefeller.

This is a deep political signal.

Is News Corp Finished - Senator Rockefeller Tells Feds to Investigate Fox Hacking of 9/11 Victims

July 13th, 2011


There are some crimes so universally offensive that even mentioning the suspected crime has devastating effects. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) raised just such a question yesterday. In a brief press statement, the Senator said:

"The reported hacking by News Corporation newspapers against a range of individuals - including children - is offensive and a serious breach of journalistic ethics. This raises serious questions about whether the company has broken U.S. law, and I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated. I am concerned that the admitted phone hacking in London by the News Corp. may have extended to 9/11 victims or other Americans. If they did, the consequences will be severe." Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, July 12 (Image: NASA)

[Peter Lemkin]

Why would the photo of Sen. Rockefeller be by NASA....now that is deep?! :popworm:
News Corp has its hidden [not very] connections to the world of intel and things Deeply Political, for sure! This entire 'drama' is now going to be played by many hidden players as a poker game....with the 'stakes' the lives of, and propaganda lines dolled out to we plebs. :happydrinks:

I hear there were also calls for investigations of Murdoch holdings and goings-on in OZ! That makes three so far. Little known is that he has many in Asia too...as well as elsewhere.

[Magda Hassan]

Scouse = Some one from Liverpool. (for the non UK readers) And a reference to the appalling Murdoch press coverage of the Hillside football stadium disaster.

[Seamus Coogan]

Scouse = Some one from Liverpool. (for the non UK readers) And a reference to the appalling Murdoch press coverage of the Hillside football stadium disaster.

On yah digger being a huge Liverpool fan I had to appreiciate it. And despite the rivalry I freaking dig Everton as well. Just aint had as much luck but I cheer them on against anyone else bar the Pool. Excellent!!!

[Magda Hassan]

I hear there were also calls for investigations of Murdoch holdings and goings-on in OZ! That makes three so far. Little known is that he has many in Asia too...as well as elsewhere.

Yes, there has been a call for an investigation into media relations and regulation here by Senator Bob Brown. He is a from the Green Party and they along with some independents currently hold the balance of power. Also Julia Gillard the prime Minister, gave one of her best speeches today at the National Press Club. She told the journos that they "Stop writing crap it's not that hard" and got huge applause from all the journos in attendance.

It is big here not so much because of the hacking, which I am sure has happened here as well but because the shadow of Murdoch is so long here and it is hard to believe that his omnipotence and omnipresence may be about to come to an end. It is surreal. Unbelievable. And totally wonderful. :jumpingjoy:

[Jan Klimkowski]

Look what the cat dragged in:

Phone hacking: former NoW executive editor Neil Wallis arrested in London

Neil Wallis taken for questioning at local police station, the ninth person to be arrested over phone hacking at News of the World

Neil Wallis, the former News of the World executive editor, has become the ninth person to be arrested over alleged phone hacking and payments to police officers by the paper.

Detectives from Operation Weeting, the Metropolitan police investigation into mobile interceptions by News International, are understood to have raided an address in west London on Thursday.

Wallis was taken for questioning at a local police station on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

He is the ninth arrest Scotland Yard has made since the fresh investigation into phone hacking was launched in January.

A Scotland Yard statement confirmed the arrest was carried out at 6.30am. "The man is currently in custody at a west London police station," the Met said. "It would be inappropriate to discuss any further details at this time."

Wallis joined the News of the World from the People in 2003 as deputy to then editor Andy Coulson. In mid-2007 he became executive editor and left the News International title in 2009. He is now a senior consultant at PR firm Outside Organisation.

Coulson and former NoW royal editor Clive Goodman, who was jailed in January 2007 for intercepting the voicemail messages of members of the royal household, were arrested and bailed on Friday as part of Operation Weeting and Operation Elveden, the separate Scotland Yard investigation into alleged illegal payments to police officers.

Coulson resigned as NoW editor in January 2007 after Goodman was jailed, saying he accepted responsibility. He has always maintained that he was unaware of phone hacking at the paper.

On the same day a 63-year-old man, who has not been named, was arrested and bailed as part of the phone hacking and police payments investigations.

The others arrested and bailed as part of Operation Weeting are Laura Elston, Press Association's royal correspondent, freelance journalist Terenia Taras, senior News of the World journalists James Weatherup and Neville Thurlbeck, and former NoW assistant editor (news) Ian Edmondson.

Precisely who did Neil Wallis serve as a consultant to?

Metropolitan Police Chief Officers, including Asst Commissioner John Yates.

Scotland Yard have admitted they employed Neil Wallis, the former executive at the News of the World who was arrested today in the phone hacking inquiry, as an adviser to the commissioner until September of last year

Vikram Dodd, our crime correspondent, reports.

Wallis was employed to advise Sir Paul Stephenson and John Yates on a part-time basis from October 2009 to September 2010. During this time Scotland Yard said there was no need to reopen the phone hacking investigation, a decision made by Yates, despite allegations in the Guardian that the first police investigation into the scandal had been inadequate.

Wallis joined the News of the World from in 2003 as deputy to then editor Andy Coulson. In mid-2007 he became executive editor and left the News International title in 2009.

Police say he supplied "strategic communications advice", and the Met said his company was chosen because it offered to do the work for the lowest price.

Relations between senior Met officers and the News of the World senior executives have been under scrutiny recently.

In September 2006, the then deputy commissioner, Paul Stephenson, accompanied by the Yard's head PR man, Dick Fedorcio, dined with Wallis, then the News of the World's deputy editor. This was only a month after Yard officers had arrested the paper's royal correspondent, Clive Goodman, and at a time when detectives were still attempting to investigate whether other journalists or executives were involved in the interception of voicemail messages. In theory, Mr Wallis was a potential suspect in the inquiry.

In a statement Scotland Yard said: "Chamy Media, owned by Neil Wallis, former Executive Editor of the News of the World, was appointed to provide strategic communication advice and support to the MPS, including advice on speech writing and PR activity, while the Met's
Deputy Director of Public Affairs was on extended sick leave recovering from a serious illness.

"In line with MPS/MPA procurement procedures, three relevant companies were invited to provide costings for this service on the basis of two days per month. Chamy Media were appointed as they were significantly cheaper than the others. The contract ran from October 2009 until September 2010, when it was terminated by mutual consent.

"The commissioner has made the chair of the police authority aware of this contract."

Source.

[Jan Klimkowski]

Last night, watching BBC2's Newsnight, I briefly stirred from slumber when their film used first hand insider sources (unidentified) to reveal how Met Police corruption went down.

The problem for any rozzer seeking to sell information to a hack is the electronic audit trail. Every key stroke on a police computer is recorded and can be accessed retrospectively by Professional Standards/Internal Affairs cops.

So, how did these corrupt cops get round the electronic audit trail?

Allegedly, they set the NOTW hacks up as Confidential Informants. This automatically took all activity outside all standard electronic audit.

If this allegation is true - again, that Met Police officers set up NOTW journalists as Confidential Informants (ie protected intelligence sources) - then the Met is in deep deep trouble.

The more humorous colour is that the payments would often take place in a drive-thru McDonalds near Wapping, where the cash would be handed over in a brown paper bag over a Royale with Cheese.

Some things change.

Some things stay the same.

I am reliably informed that, in most British police forces, approval to set up and run a Confidential Informant can only be granted by an officer of Detective Inspector rank or above.

If this is correct, the corruption must involve senior officers.

[Jan Klimkowski]

Sniff... sniff sniff...

It smells rotten.... the corpse of an innocent being pecked... flayed... traduced... for deep political ends.

Here's the letter from the Menezes family to David Cameron and ccd to Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband, and Keith Vaz, the chairman of the home affairs select committee. The letter calls upon the PM to extend the remit to the inquiry into the phone hacking scandal to scrutinise whether police officers involved in the Menezes investigation were leaking information to the press, either for financial benefit or in an effort to defend the reputation of the Metropolitan police.

In the letter, the family say the telephone number of a member of the Menezes family was found on the phone hacking list of the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. The family's legal team have now submitted the names and telephone numbers of others who may have been potential targets of illegal phone hacking by Mulcaire on behalf of News of the World, including other relatives of Jean Charles de Menezes, representatives from the Justice4Jean campaign and members of their legal team.

The family say they have a "deep concern" about the relationship between Andy Hayman, the now-retired police officer in charge of the first phone hacking inquiry, and News International. Since leaving the police, Hayman has written for the Times, which is owned by NI.

The Menezes family point to the significant number of leaks relating to the Menezes case that appear to come from police sources and call on Cameron to do everything within his power to ensure that this issue is thoroughly investigated.

A spokesperson for Justice4Jean said:

The Menezes family are deeply pained and to find their phones may have been hacked at a time at which they were at their most vulnerable and bereaved. They are bewildered as to why the police did not approach them with this information earlier, and fear the police may be attempting to cover up their own wrongdoing once more relating to this case.

Here is the text of their letter:

Dear Mr Cameron,

Re: News International phone hacking and relationship with the police

We are writing to you to express our deep concern about reports exposing the relationship between Andy Hayman and News International and how this may relate to the media coverage and investigation into the death of our cousin, Jean Charles de Menezes, after his death on 22 July 2005.

Our lawyers have contacted officers involved in Operation Weeting who confirmed yesterday that the phone number of Alex Pereira, one of Jean Charles's cousins, was found on the phone hacking list of the private investigator Glen Mulcaire. Our legal team have now submitted the names and telephone numbers of others who may have been potential targets of illegal phone hacking by Mulcaire on behalf of News of the World, including other relatives, representatives from the Justice4Jean campaign and members of the legal team. We are currently awaiting information from the police to confirm whether any of these numbers appear on the list and whether there is evidence that their voicemail messages were hacked.

Should this be the case, it would present an egregious and unwarranted intrusion of privacy into the lives of our grieving family and a deliberate attempt to curtail our fundamental right to seek redress for the unlawful killing of our cousin. With the sixth anniversary of Jean's death approaching next week, we write to urge you to do everything within your power to ensure the police swiftly investigate this sensitive matter and report back to our legal team as quickly as possible.

We would also like to draw your attention to another aspect of the investigation of our cousin's death, which we believe warrants further attention. In the Independent Police Complaints Commission's 'Stockwell 2' investigation, the practice of police 'off the record briefings' to the media was scrutinised and the IPCC found that Andy Hayman had deliberately 'misled the public' over claims that person who had been shot dead by the police on 22 July 2005 was one of the four men who were being sought in connection with the attempted bombings of the previous day.

Recent coverage of the police's role in investigating allegations of phone hacking, including Mr Hayman's evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, have highlighted his close relationship with News International, including potential financial links. We are conscious that the newspapers owned by News International provided some of the most virulent and often misleading coverage around Jean's death and its aftermath.

Throughout the investigation, misinformation continued to be leaked to the press that attempted to besmirch Jean's character. The publication of these lies about his actions on the day of the shooting included false allegations that Jean Charles was wearing a bulky jacket, had failed to stop after a police warning, had jumped the ticket barriers or had acted suspiciously in the moments leading up to his shooting. They also related to untrue allegations about his immigration status and even attempts to link him to a rape allegation that could only have emanated from police sources.

There was also a conscious attempt to smear the Justice4Jean campaign by attacking individuals involved in supporting the Menezes family. Considering what is now known about Andy Hayman's relationship with News International, we would like the inquiry into this scandal to extend its remit to scrutinise whether police officers involved in the Menezes investigation were leaking information to the press, either for financial benefit or in a vain effort to deflect criticism from the actions of the Metropolitan Police which had led to Jeans death.

These issues are of extreme importance to our family, whilst the accountability of the police and how politically sensitive criminal investigations are reported in the media are clearly a matter of public interest. We hope you will take these issues forward on our behalf.

Yours sincerely

Patricia da Silva Armani, cousin of Jean Charles de Menezes
Vivian Figueiredo, cousin of Jean Charles de Menezes
Alessandro Pereira, cousin of Jean Charles de Menezes

Cc Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, Rt Hon, Keith Vaz MP

12.53pm: Yasmin Khan, a spokeswoman for the Justice4Jean campaign, told the Guardian's Sam Jones that they had recently discovered that Glenn Mulcaire's list included the phone number of Jean-Charles's cousin, Alex Pereira:

We were told yesterday. We approached police last week and they got back to us yesterday with Alex's number and told us to submit the numbers of family members and members of the campaign.