Washington - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) sent a letter today to Attorney General Holder today encouraging him to thoroughly investigate accusations made by a British lawmaker that News International, a British subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, had hacked into the phones of 9/11 victims.

"The U.S. government must ensure that victims in the United States have not been subjected to illegal and unconscionable actions by these newspapers seeking to exploit information about their personal tragedies for profit," Senator Menendez wrote.

Mr. Murdoch's newspapers have already been accused of numerous illegal activities including intercepting and deleting the phone messages of a young girl, Milly Dowler, who disappeared and was later found murdered. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has accused one newspaper of hiring criminals to gather personal information about his personal finances and his family.

Scotland Yard is currently engaged in an investigation which reportedly includes a list of 3,870 names, 5,000 land-line phone numbers and 4,000 cellphone numbers that may have been hacked.

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July 13, 2011

Attorney General Eric Holder

Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Holder:

I am deeply concerned about accusations that News International, a British subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, hacked into the phones of terrorist attack victims, possibly including 9/11 victims.

As you know, News International is accused of hacking the phones of the victims of the July 7, 2005 London bombings. The Daily Mirror newspaper has reported that journalists also sought to secure phone data concerning victims of the September 11, 2011 attacks in the United States through a private investigator. It is horrifying to consider the possibility that the victims of the 9/11 tragedy would be victimized again by an international newspaper seeking information about their personal suffering.

The U.S. government must ensure that victims in the United States have not been subjected to illegal and unconscionable actions by these newspapers seeking to exploit information about their personal tragedies for profit. Newspapers have been accused of numerous lurid and illegal activities including even intercepting and deleting the phone messages of a young girl, Milly Dowler, who disappeared and was later found murdered in the U.K. In addition, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has stated that one of the newspapers in the group owned by Mr. Murdoch employed known criminals to gather personal information about his bank account, legal files and tax affairs. Mr. Brown's family reports that they were victims of a private investigation that revealed private information about their son's serious medical condition.

Given the large scope of Scotland Yard's investigation which reportedly includes a list of 3,870 names, 5,000 land-line phone numbers and 4,000 cellphone numbers that may have been hacked, I believe it is imperative to investigate whether victims in the United States have been affected as well. I ask that in particular that you investigate allegations that these tabloids may have hacked the phones of 9/11 victims.

I look forward to your expeditious and thorough investigation into these accusations.

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