Why U.S. Prosecutors Won’t Be Filing Corruption Charges Against News Corp

[Commentary] What if the scandal involving bribery, phone-hacking and News Corp landed in an American courtroom? It would be a great story. But despite the best efforts of some media outlets to wish the story into existence, it’s not going to happen.

For two weeks, the British newspaper The Guardian (disclosure: until a month ago, we were owned by Guardian News & Media) has been beating the drum about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a 1977 law that makes it illegal for U.S.-based companies and executives to obtain business by bribing foreign officials. Media pundit Michael Wolff, for instance, yesterday opened a piece by noting the obvious—that the FCPA is not designed for events like the UK hacking scandal. But Wolff nonetheless embarked on a speculative tour de force of how the FCPA could technically apply and how Team Murdoch is rejigging its legal strategy to fight off the Americans. He concludes by egging on the U.S. feds.

Give me a break. Attempting to prosecute part of the UK media establishment would be a bridge too far, even for a Justice Department that has acquired a reputation for over-zealous and politicized FCPA investigations.