News Corp. Lawyer Documents Reveal Knowledge Of “Hacking Culture” In 2008

In 2008 an outside lawyer working for News Corp. submitted various documents that warned of a a “culture of illegal information access” at the now defunct News of the World newspaper. The new documents could prove that News Corp. executives have been lying about their longtime assertion that they were unaware of the phone hacking scandal that sent ripples through the company.

The documents were revealed on Tuesday by the UK Parliament’s Culture, Sport and Media Committee which is examining whether or not News Corp executives including COO James Murdoch misled lawmakers who have been investigating the scandal for the last several years.

In the documents the committee says both inside and outside lawyers working with the media conglomerate were aware that the hacking issue went beyond a single rogue reporter at News of the World. 

In 2008 outside lawyer Michael Silverleaf wrote:

“There is overwhelming evidence of the involvement of a number of senior NGN journalists in the illegal enquiries into [redacted].”

The Parliament’s committee is attempting to determine if such findings ever made their way to Rupert Murdoch while a person close to News Corp. said the company’s CEO never saw the briefing.

Would it surprise you to learn that top level executives at News Corp. knew about the phone hacking scandal years ago?

[Image via ShutterStock]