...guess someone in the Admin's figured out their reign is about to end: Time to attack their "enemies".
Justice Seeks Info From News Corp.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2011, 7:59 P.M. ET.
By THOMAS CATAN And DEVLIN BARRETT
...Lightsquared influence peddlingU.S. prosecutors have sent News Corp. a letter seeking information about possible payments made by its U.K. tabloid newspapers to British policemen, according to people familiar with the matter.
The letter of request, sent last week, is part of a Justice Department investigation, these people said, into whether the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. law that prohibits companies from bribing foreign officials.
The fact the Justice Department chose to issue a "letter of request" rather than a criminal subpoena suggests the department has opted for a less confrontational approach to the matter, legal experts say.
Several people familiar with the case described the letter as part of ongoing communications between the company and the government about producing documents related to possible violations of U.S. law.
Earlier this year, News Corp. retained Mark Mendelsohn, the Justice Department's former head of FCPA enforcement, The Wall Street Journal has previously reported. During his time at the Justice Department, Mr. Mendelsohn encouraged companies to come clean about suspected FCPA violations in return for more lenient treatment by the government. He allowed many companies to conduct their own internal investigations using outside counsel under Justice Department oversight. Mr. Mendelsohn didn't respond to request for comment.
The existence of the letter was earlier reported by Bloomberg News. Spokeswomen for both News Corp. and the Justice Department declined to comment on the letter. News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal.
The Justice Department is conducting a separate investigation into allegations by a U.K. tabloid newspaper that a News Corp. publication tried to hack into the telephone accounts of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Last month, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder met with victims' families who were concerned about the allegations.
Investigators haven't found hard evidence so far in probing whether News Corp.'s U.K.-based journalists might have hacked the phones of 9/11 victims, people familiar with the matter have said.
...Solyndra loan tampering
...Operation Gunrunner
...DOJ thuggery of Republican donor's
...Attorney General's abuse of authority to silence Administration critics
...Backroom deals with Big Pharma
...Conspiracy to commit witness tampering
...Use of interstate communications to violate civil rights
...and on, and on, and on.
The Chicago Way...
