With revelations at the UK inquiry into media ethics that phone hacking was common practice at Rupert Murdoch's news operations, it is worth looking at how the US inquiry is going. The US inquiry is looking at whether a a Murdoch-owned marketing firm hacked into a competitor's password-protecting website in order to steal proprietary information. A whistleblower has also alleged predatory pricing and other anti-competitive practices. But so far, the inquiry has gotten off to a shaky start.
Remember Preet Bharara, the Attorney General investigating News Corp.'s phone hacking practices in the United States? He happens to be best friends with Viet Dinh, a key member of Rupert Murdoch's US board. The two got to know each other in their first week of freshman year at Harvard when they landed in a seminar together.
Now Eric Boehlert from Media Matters reports that he has decided to step aside from the investigation. "The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, has recused himself from the office's ongoing investigation into News Corp. because of a longstanding friendship with a News Corp. board member. The U.S. Attorney's office does not publicly announce when recusals are made, but spokeswoman Ellen Davis confirmed to Media Matters that Bharara took himself off the investigation several months ago. Bharara consulted with the Department of Justice's ethicist who concluded he did not have to recuse himself, but that 'in order to avoid even the appearance of impropriety' he opted to do so, says Davis."
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