• by Erik Sass , July 15, 2011

A day after members of Congress called for an inquiry in response to allegations that a British tabloid owned by News Corp. hacked into the voicemails of 9/11 victims, the FBI opened an investigation into the matter.

This raises the possibility that the scandal may take on an international dimension, according to reports in USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.

The FBI didn't officially acknowledge the report, which was based on an anonymous source at the Bureau cited by USA Today and other news orgs. However, the source was quoted as saying that the FBI's New York field office launched the criminal probe in response to letters from members of Congress and after consulting with the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York.

Earlier this week, British newspapers reported that the News of the World, shuttered on Sunday, had tried to recruit an American private investigator to hack into the voicemails of 9/11 victims and their families, but been rebuffed. The same reports suggested that another private investigator may have been recruited to carry out the hacks.

On Wednesday, a letter from U.S. Representative Peter T. King (R-NY) to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller was circulated to the press, reading in part: "If these allegations are proven true, the conduct would merit felony charges for attempting to violate various federal statutes related to corruption of public officials and prohibitions against wiretapping. Any person found guilty of this purported conduct should receive the harshest sanctions available under law."

Also on Wednesday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., called for a new investigation into the practices of the shuttered tabloid -- and possibly other News Corp. properties -- here in the United States.

In an official statement Rockefeller explained: "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."