News Corp. will likely be investigated under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Report: News Corp. subpoenas loom

The News Corp. phone hacking scandal is about to become a federal case in the United States, with The Wall Street Journal reporting on Friday that the Justice Department is preparing subpoenas related to domestic hacking and foreign bribery.

The development indicates that News Corp. will be investigated for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids U.S. companies from paying off foreign officials, which News of the World reporters and editors are accused of doing.


The News Corp.-owned Journal reported the subpoenas have yet to be approved by senior Justice officials. The report did say the FBI has begun investigating allegations, published in London’s Daily Mirror tabloid, that News of the World hacked into the voice mails of victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch ordered the 168-year-old News of the World closed earlier this month in an attempt to isolate the problem from its other news outlets.

The Journal printed a statement from a News Corp. spokeswoman, denying the company used scurrilous practices at its U.S. properties, which also include Fox News and the New York Post.

“We have not seen any evidence to suggest there was any hacking of 9/11 victim’s phones, nor has anybody corroborated what are clearly very serious allegations,” the spokeswoman said. “The story arose when an unidentified person speculated to the Daily Mirror about whether it happened. That paper printed the anonymous speculation, which has since mushroomed in the broader media with no substantiation.”

Murdoch, his son James and Rebekah Brooks, who until last week was CEO of the company’s British newspaper unit, all denied knowledge of any bribes or widespread phone hacking during their appearances before a committee of Parliament Tuesday.

The News of the World’s former editor and chief attorney then issued a statement Thursday claiming they had informed James Murdoch directly of a smoking gun email that indicated both that the illegal practices were not limited to one reporter and that bribes were being paid to police officers.

The Journal also reported News Corp. officials are expecting and preparing for a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the company’s practices.