Stuart Slotnick Weighs in on News Corp Phone Hacking Scandal

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney White-Collar Crime Litigator Stuart Slotnick called the phone-hacking scandal "a bad situation that just won't go away for News Corp," in a Financial Times article published in the Asia and US editions July 18, 2011.

The burgeoning case against Rupert Murdoch's UK-based paper has raised eyebrows in the United States with the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission now looking into an unverified report claiming News of the World employees sought out voicemail messages of 9/11 victims.

According to Slotnick, the Department of Justice would seek explicit evidence of wrongdoing on the part of News Corp executives; having knowledge illegal activity and failing to take proper steps to stop it may be insufficient for prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, he said.

Even if United States officials elect to move forward with their own investigation, it may take years to fully play out, Slotnick noted.