It turns out that the very man at the heart of the hacking scandal, Clive Goodman, contrary to the testimony of Rupert and James Murdoch (and Rebekah Brooks) stated in his resignation letter of four years ago that phone hacking was long the talk of the editors.
But that’s not all, Rupert and James hung their lawyers out to dry before Parliament last month, saying they had reviewed their operation to make sure it was behaving properly and given them a clean bill of health.
Uh, not quite, you aussie douchebag, not quite:
the parliamentary panel released a letter from Harbottle & Lewis, a law firm hired by the Murdochs, which they have repeatedly cited as having given the News of the World a “clean bill of health” in reviewing a cache of e-mails in 2007. The law firm’s letter contradicts that assertion and says that its own investigation had been limited strictly to advising the company in its employment dispute with Mr. Goodman.
And hey, nice redacting too.
Not that anybody of any wealth and power is going to go to jail…that sort of thing is so many Leona Helmsleys ago.




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Murdoch lied to Parliament? No biggie. If Rupert Murdoch had a thrown a pie at someone then he might have been arrested.
Anyone that believes anything Rupert or Sonny have to say may be interested in purchasing my unicorn that shits gold.
Not that anybody of any wealth and power is going to go to jail
The rest of the world still does occasionally throw “evil doers” into the pokey, it is primarily in USACorp that ignores the transgressions of the wealthy.
When future generations look back, these scandals will be paltry by comparison with the Murdochs’ role as the Goebbels of American neo-fascism, neoconservatism and neoliberalism. They’ll be seen as the Pied Pipers who led a great nation over the precipice with propaganda (thinly) disguised as journalism.
Murdoch’s NotW promised poor Clive Goodman he’d be taken care of if he took the fall and didn’t implicate them.
Gangster Living 101 — a promise isn’t worth anything unless it’s enforceable.
Good morning, pups.The Moustache of Wisdom is off today, so MoDo is flying solo. In “Field of Dashed Dreams” she says in dueling buses crisscrossing cornfields, a temperate president and intemperate governor check out the political temperature.
Here she is.
The coffee and tea are ready, the cold drinks are in the fridge, and I’ve got a variety of bagels with cream cheese today. I’m running late today, so I’m off. have a great day.
Murdoch and Abramov and Masdoff should have a great time together, can imagine them all cheating each other out of matchsticks at poker.
I think Rupert is pretty safe, it’ll be real tough to pin this on him. Especially when so many politicians really don’t want that to happen to one of their major supporters.
James is another story. I think that letter pretty clearly shows he’s been lying to parliment. In America, we’d simply issue a Sternly Worded Letter signed by some congresscritter who’s Really Serious Now.
I don’t know what the Brits will do. Except in matters of torture, they still seem to have a functioning, independent judiciary. So despite the fact that the Murdoch’s will likely take some big names down with them when they go, something might happen. Rupert public statements make me think that everybody goes under the bus except Brooks and James. And if it would protect James, he’d sacrifice Brooks.
Boxturtle (I wonder if the GOP realizes they could outsource the warrantless wiretapping to Faux?)
Rupert and Co unlawfully broke into peoples privately held communications and listened and then took the information for their own profit. They looted privacy. And. More.
Are not all looters being identified, having their property seized and being put into orange jumpsuits to clean up the messes?
Sounds like the boot, or rather, the orange suit, fits.
Good morning all,
If he’s a true conservative he’ll throw away his kid before he takes the fall.
It’s just a matter of time before it’s legal to eat your own, the way things seem to be drifting.
Sure, he has other kids anyway.
The real loser here is Cameron. He was just getting on a roll with the tough-guy act when this came down. Labour will not let him off the hook, and as far as the Tories go, they have plenty of alternative candidates waiting in the wings.
You’ve got one, too?
I wonder if Parliament likes having been lied to. Presumably young James will be asked to return to ‘correct his statement.’ I wonder if he’ll go this time. Perhaps they will compel his testimony?
I mean, the government issues permits to their businesses to operate there, right? There is a certain power they could wield over NewsInc should they want to.
Under Katrina rules he was not looting but foraging.
Murdochs lying to UK Parliament? Color me gobsmacked… NOT!!!!
The Murdoch family business/tradition is to LIE with impunity and sell their LIES for pots & stacks & heaps & barrels of money. The Murdoch clan all adhere to the addage: if you’re gonna LIE, LIE BIG. And that’s what happened in Parly… a BIG fat old LIE-fest.
Mos def “Sir” Rupert will throw anyone & everyone under the bus if it’ll save his turkey-wattled neck. Murdoch’s a classic sociopath; no one matters to Rupert except Rupert.
We probably won’t see the pirate or junior go to jail but if this all goes as it appears to be going then I think we will see Cameron out, Newscorp damaged beyond repair in Britain and a forced retirement for the Murdoch boys. Newscorp will sell off WSJ and Ailes will be on his own. We could possible see the death of Fox News in our life time.
Seems to me this is only the tip of the iceberg. Amy Goodman had an excellent expose of what exactly does go on with cellphones, pro and contra, stuff we wouldn’t be aware of as ordinary citizens. I don’t think this is just a problem specific to Murdoch. Just heard too the CNN radio reporter gleefully telling Verizon strikers their medical benefits will be cut off if they continue to strike beyond the end of the month. One reason to end the calamitous system of healthcare Obama is propping up. These great advances are totally vulnerable to hacking and that is no doubt going on over here as well, in spades. Not to mention it can be cut off at a corporate whim.