Questions on 'the legality of the conduct of News Corporation,' was raised, Lautenberg wrote. | REUTERS 9/11 families call for U.S. probe of Murdoch

Angry family members of victims of the 9/11 attacks and a growing number of lawmakers on Wednesday called for a U.S. investigation into allegations that journalists at the British News of the World tabloid sought to hack the phones of their lost love ones.

“Someone should look into it to see if their rights were violated – the family members I’ve talked to are appalled, they’re disgruntled, they have to relive the pain all over again,” Jim Riches, a former deputy chief in the New York Fire Department whose 29-year-old fireman son was killed in the attacks, told POLITICO.


“I think they crossed the line. They’re trying to get messages from loved ones in the last moments of their lives. It’s horrible, and they should be held accountable. It’s despicable and unethical,” Riches added.

Sally Regenhard, vice chairwoman of 9/11 Parents and Families of Firefighters & World Trade Center Victims, said that she also supports an American probe and added that the latest allegations come at a particularly hard time for victims’ families..

“It’s hard enough for people to deal with the 10th anniversary and now this – it just adds more salt to the wounds,” said Regenhard, who lost her 28-year-old firefighter son, on Sept. 11.

“If it’s true, then it’s an egregious violation of decency and respect. Whether it’s 9/11 victims or the British victim – the child who was kidnapped – I think we really need to look at national and international standards for security for privacy for this type of thing,” Regenhard added. “We need to put a hold on this no matter who it is.”

Meanwhile, an increasing number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill are now pushing for an investigation.

With many of the 9/11 victims having been New Jersey residents, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) called on the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to look into the conduct of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.

“The limited information already reported in this case raises serious questions about the legality of the conduct of News Corporation and its subsidiaries under the [Foreign Corrupt Practices Act],” Lautenberg wrote. “Further investigation may reveal that current reports only scratch the surface of the problem at News Corporation.”

Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro urging their respective agencies to probe whether employees of News Corp. subsidiaries attempted to bribe British police and whether Americans’ phones may have been hacked.

“The reported allegations against News Corporation are very serious, indicate a pattern of illegal activity, and involve thousands of potential victims. It is important to ensure that no United States laws were broken and no United States citizens were victimized,” the senators wrote in the letter.

In a separate letter, Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) also called for a DOJ investigation.

Laura Sweeney, a DOJ spokesperson, said that the department would review the letters but declined further comment.

The 9/11 hacking allegations first surfaced in a report in the British newspaper, the Daily Mirror. The paper said journalists at the News of the World approached a New York private investigator and tried to buy phone records of victims from him. The investigator, who had been a cop, allegedly declined to provide the records.