House Homeland Security chairman wants investigation of News Corp

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-NY) wrote to the Federal Bureau of Investigation asking it to investigate allegations of bribery and wiretapping against News Corp., making him the first Republican lawmaker to call for a probe.

Chairman King wrote to FBI Director Robert Mueller after reports that News Corp. subsidiary News of the World solicited a New York police officer to gain access to the private phone records of 9/11 victims from the days leading up to the attacks. "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," Chairman 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."

Separately, several Senate Democrats called for investigations of allegations that the firm bribed foreign officials and hacked the phones of 9/11 victims. Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) all called for the U.S. government to act.