AP
Spies like...Hewlett-Packard? It's true: The NYT reports that the computer giant hired gumshoes to snag the private phone records of certain targets — including nine journalists.
HP's efforts to ferret out directors leaking information to the press have led to an investigation by the California attorney general's office into the unauthorized procurment of private phone records, including those of journos from New York Times, Wall Street Journal and CNET.
Per a Hewlett-Packard spokesman: "H.P. is dismayed that the phone records of journalists were accessed without their knowledge." That statement likely translates as ""H.P. is dismayed that the stupid private investigators got caught, and is totally never hiring PIs out of the Yellow Pages again."
Props to the NYT for elegant use of language in this one, with the underused "purloining" and fun reference to 'subterfuge by a subcontractor' (in a move that HP now concedes was sublegal). No props, however, for the way they presented the affected media outlets, with the NYT puffing up its own involvement at the top of the story and the WSJ and CNET getting obligatory mentions a few paras down.
Even further down, however, is something more interesting: NYT lawyer David McCraw said that, in addition to assisting with the criminal investigation, the NYT "will pursue whatever legal recourse is available." We wish the NYT the best of luck in getting a nice deep-pocketed settlement. Free TimesSelect for all!
