Holder: There's 'No Proof' 9/11 Victims Were Hacked

Reuters
John Hudson 259 Views Aug 25, 2011

This will give News Corp. investors a momentary sigh of relief. Attorney General Eric Holder told the families of 9/11 victims Wednesday that "there is no proof yet" that any News Corp. journalists illegally hacked into their relatives' phones. "They said if anyone is held accountable, corporations can be fined, and the people who should have known or who did the hacking could be put in jail," Jim Riches, a former firefighter whose son died in the attacks, told Politico. The Justice Department says it's taking the investigation seriously, which began after a report last month that the now defunct British tabloid News of the World asked a private investigator to gather details on 9/11 victims from phone records. According to the report, the New York investigator declined the offer but victims worry that other investigators may have been hired. Norman Siegel, a lawyer for the victims' families, says the the claim of phone hacking is "merely an allegation at this point. We hope it's not true."

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at jhudson at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Related Articles   More by John Hudson

'Shaken' Murdoch Apologizes to Milly Dowler's Family

Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton Quits As Hacking Probe Widens

Departing News Corp. Executives Will Get Millions from Murdoch

 

R.J. Cutler: What I Read

Gavin Newsom: What I Read

Elsewhere on the Web

User Comments

Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App