Update, 4:12 P.M.: News Corp. told TheWrap: "Mr. Murdoch never knew of payments made by Sun staff to police before News Corporation disclosed that to UK Authorities. Furthermore, he never said he knew of payments. It’s absolutely false to suggest otherwise."
Previously:
Rupert Murdoch has been caught on tape discussing his recent legal woes — and he doesn't sound very sorry.
British investigative site ExaroNews obtained a 45 minute long recording said to be Murdoch talking to journalists in Britain's Sun newsroom last March.
In the recording, Murdoch admits to knowing that journalists at his papers paid police officers and public officials for tips and information but dismissing it as "next to nothing." Murdoch also calls the police investigating his media empire "incompetent" and assures his employees that he will do everything possible to support them, even if they are convicted of the bribery or phone hacking charges some of them currently face.
Also read: 5 Journalists Arrested at Rupert Murdoch's Sun Newspaper
News Corp. responded to the tapes in a statement to TheWrap, which praises Murdoch for the "empathy" he's shown his employees but says nothing about the recording:
"No other company has done as much to identify what went wrong, compensate the victims, and ensure the same mistakes do not happen again. The unprecedented co-operation granted by News Corp was agreed unanimously by senior management and the board, and the MSC continues to co-operate under the supervision of the courts.
Rupert Murdoch has shown understandable empathy with the staff and families affected and will assume they are innocent until and unless proven guilty."