(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
BY WEN YAN
ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN
The Murdoch Media Empire, run like the mafia?
That’s the allegation from a Labor Party member of the British Parliament.
Tom Watson dubbed News International deputy chief James Murdoch with his new title.
Watson: " Are you familiar with the word Mafia?"
Murdoch:" Yes, Mr. Watson?"
Watson:" Have you heard of a term -- omertà, the Mafia's term for the code of silence? "
Murdoch:"I've never heard of such thing."
Watson:"Would you agree it means a group of people who bound together by secrecy to pursue their business objective with no regard to the law using intimidation, corruption and general criminality?"...
Waston:" Would you agree with me that this is an accurate description of News International in UK?'
Murdoch:" Absolutely not."
The exchange happened during Murdoch's second phone hacking inquiry after his first appearance before a House of Commons committee in July.
Murdoch called the comment “offensive and not true”.
Forbes sums up James Murdoch’s defense into three parts.
"I didn’t know about it.
Blame the people who should’ve told me about it.
The people who say they did tell me about it are wrong."
Some Parliamentary members believe Murdoch is misleading the committee by denying any knowledge of the widespread hacking in News of the World.
Former NoW's Legal director Tom Crone insists Murdoch was aware of the email which uncovered the internal systematic hacking.
"I said to the committee on last occasion that it's the first evidence that we have seen that has went beyond a single reporter." ... " Uh, Listen, it was the reason that we have settled the case. We had to expand the case to Mr Murdoch to get his authority to settle it. So certainly it would be discussed. "
NPR's David Folkenflik pointed out in a tweet - Mr Murdoch's performance in the second hearing could affect his inheritance of the position as the head of the global media empire owned by his father Rupert Murdoch.
"First Blush: J Murdoch fairly polished yet unable to restore credibility. Yet MPs landed no single knockout punch through some new tough Qs"
But The New York Times says this isn’t just about Mr. Murdoch and the company -- these hearings go much deeper.
“They are seeking to get to the bottom of a scandal that has reached deep into British society, raising questions of intimate and self-serving ties linking the media, the political elite and the police.”
(AOC)
Meanwhile, the investigation into the far-reaching scandal continues. According to the AP, the Scotland Yard says police are going through 300 million emails obtained from News International.
