EavesdroppingFBI investigates News Corp. for potential 9/11 victim hacks

Lawmakers in the United States have waded into the growing controversy that has engulfed Rupert Murdoch’smedia empire.

On Wednesday several Democratic senators and Representative Pete King (R – New York), the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, requested that the FBI begin an investigation into whether News Corp. attempted to hack into the phones of 9/11 victims.

“It is revolting to imagine that members of the media would seek to compromise the integrity of a public official for financial gain in the pursuit of yellow journalism,” Representative King wrote.“The 9/11 families have suffered egregiously, but unfortunately they remain vulnerable against such unjustifiable parasitic strains. We can spare no effort or expense in continuing our support for them.”

Meanwhile Senators Barbara Boxer (D – California) and Jay Rockefeller (D – West Virginia) called on Attorney General Eric Holder and Security and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro to investigate News Corp.

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

Speaking to The Hill, Senator Rockefeller said,“There’s the problem of what happened over there in that country, what’s happened here. Were 9/11 families, victims’ families, called or not? Were laws broken?

“We’re going to be very attentive to that problem,” he added.

In response to their calls, the FBI opened an investigation into News Corp. to determine if the allegations of bribery and wiretapping are true.

The investigation comes after the U.K.-based News of the World was shuttered last week after it was revealed that the newspaper had hacked into the voicemail of a murdered teenager in 2002 and may have obstructed a police investigation into her disappearance.

A rival newspaper reported that the News of the World may have also hacked into the voicemails of other young murder victims, 2005 London train bombing victims, the families of dead soldiers, and even the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

So far seven people have been arrested by British authorities in connection to the case and Murdoch’s highly lucrative bid for British Sky Broadcasting was dropped due to pressure from the U.K. parliament.