Eliot Spitzer is no stranger to corporate corruption. The former governor and attorney general of New York made it a point to make such cases a priority and he had a very high success rate. Today in Slate, the former governor is now calling for the Department of Justice to prosecute News Corp under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act:

Bribery, illegal wiretapping, interference in a murder investigation, political blackmail, and rampant disregard for both the truth and basic decency. The behavior of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. in Britain has shocked even his closest allies and cynical British journalists. The Murdoch empire is falling apart—criminal behavior and disregard for basic ethics having permeated its highest ranks. News Corp. executives’ claims of a full and thorough investigation and that there were only a few bad apples have been exposed as feeble and false. The pseudo-investigations conducted by Scotland Yard are likewise proving to be corrupt and unreliable. Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron’s government is running for cover, but it cannot escape the untoward relationship that it had with Murdoch.

So how does all this concern Americans? First, it is hard to believe that the misbehavior in Murdoch’s media empire stopped at the water’s edge. Given the frequency with which he shuttled his senior executives and editors across the various oceans—Pacific as well as Atlantic—it is unlikely that the shoddy ethics were limited to Great Britain.

You can read the full article here.

One of the most interesting parts of the article is the potential punishment if found guilty:

If DoJ does investigate and if a court were to find News Corp. liable, the penalties should extend beyond the traditional monetary fine. News Corp. should also have its FCC licenses revoked. Licensure and relicensure by the FCC require that the licensee abide by the law and serve the public interest. News Corp. appears to have blatantly violated this basic standard. Its licenses should be pulled.

Having the FCC licenses revoked is something I never thought of. Given the size of News Corp, I doubt this would actually happen. What I could see becoming more of a reality is the government breaking up News Corp and forcing some major changes. Hopefully the DOJ will take Spitzer’s advice so that we can see how this does play out.