WASHINGTON, D.C.—Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV issued the following statement regarding recent reports that News Corporation’s publication News of the World engaged in phone tapping and other illegal activity:

"The reported hacking by News Corporation newspapers against a range of individuals—including children—is offensive and a serious breach of journalistic ethics. This raises serious questions about whether the company has broken U.S. law, and I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated. I am concerned that the admitted phone hacking in London by the News Corp. may have extended to 9/11 victims or other Americans. If they did, the consequences will be severe."

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