American tax officials

Chapter 325 Stealing Your Home

"Bang!"

Just as Murdoch was lost in his daydreams, a loud crash startled him. He looked up and saw his secretary had barged in. He immediately demanded angrily, "How many times have I told you? No matter what it is, you have to knock before you come in!"

"Mr. Murdoch, News Corporation has been announced to be under investigation!"

"what?"

Murdoch was stunned, his face filled with disbelief.

He certainly knew how formidable David was, but he still chose to stand up against him because he knew that freedom of the press was very important in the United States.

Therefore, he was certain before he took action that even if David wanted to harm him, the higher-ups in the IRS would stop him.

But what I didn't expect was that David would actually dare to touch him now?

Aren't they afraid of being condemned, retaliated against, and having their press freedom suppressed?

Even if David is insane, are the higher-ups at the IRS also insane?

A multitude of thoughts flashed through his mind, but Murdoch still couldn't quite believe it. He immediately asked urgently, "What's going on? What's the Los Angeles IRS up to?"

"Mr. Murdoch, it's not the Los Angeles IRS, it's the FBI!"

"What did you say?!"

Murdoch was taken aback again, then quickly confirmed, "You mean, it wasn't the Los Angeles IRS that announced the investigation, but the FBI?"

"Yes."

"On what charge?"

"They are announcing the reopening of the investigation against us for the crimes related to the 9/11 wiretapping."

"The 9/11 wiretapping scandal!"

Murdoch's face darkened upon hearing this.

He settled this matter more than a decade ago, and now it has suddenly come to light. He doesn't believe that the FBI has found some new clue.

Moreover, even if the FBI had any new leads, there are many Freemasons in that organization. How come he didn't receive any prior information?

Could it be...? Yes, this matter is definitely related to David!

To gather more information, Murdoch picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and then dialed a number…

About seven or eight minutes later, his face darkened even more after the call ended.

According to their Freemason members within the FBI, the matter had been approved by a deputy director in charge of criminal investigations, and then an investigation team was formed by former Nevada Special Agent Gavin to conduct the investigation.

He had heard about Gavin before; when Gavin was in office in Nevada, he announced an investigation into the state's governor, Stevenson, clearly indicating that he had already become David's henchman.

This further confirms Murdoch's earlier speculation that the FBI's investigation against them was orchestrated by David from the very beginning!

However, it must be said that David's move was truly vicious.

They used the FBI to target them, hiding behind the scenes as the mastermind. This way, they could avoid the public saying that the IRS was retaliating against and suppressing press freedom. And most importantly, they used the same charges as the 9/11 wiretapping scandal.

9/11 deeply affected the hearts of Americans. It took him a tremendous amount of effort to quell the crisis back then, and now that it has been exposed again, coupled with David's behind-the-scenes instigation, it will be difficult to suppress this matter until it is resolved.

"Go, destroy all the data related to this, and also..."

This data had been accumulated over many years, and it would be a real shame to destroy it. But Murdoch couldn't worry about that now, because the situation was very bad, and he had to ensure that everything was foolproof.

Otherwise, if this matter escalates, he might not only be able to prevent David from being promoted, but he himself might also have to step down.

……

As time went on, coupled with the constant "fanning of the flames" by the Onsa Group, the public opinion surrounding the News Corp. phone hacking scandal grew increasingly intense.

Shortly after the incident broke, Freemasons, led by Henrietta and Joshua Mogan, called Murdoch to express their concern.

After all, the public outcry against David has only just begun to gain some traction, and once this incident comes to light, the propaganda war will definitely have to be put on hold.

But that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is not to let the FBI find out anything, otherwise it would be a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.

Fortunately, although the FBI announced the reopening of the investigation, it has not yet announced that it has obtained any evidence.

After destroying all relevant documents, Murdoch gained some confidence, which reassured the entire Freemasonry.

The next day arrived.

Los Angeles IRS, in the director's office.

"Gavin's in New York, I think the real show is about to begin!"

"Hehe, I'd like to see how much News Corp will fall after the stock market opens."

"Here it comes!"

Nixon, Bucky, and Simmons were joking and chatting, while David was leisurely drinking coffee. However, after Simmons reminded him, he also turned his attention to the large television screen hanging on the wall.

"Hello viewers, this is CNN. Agent Gavin and his investigative team have arrived at News Corp. in New York. Let's see what happens next..."

The television footage showed Gavin, dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, getting out of the car and leading a large group of agents into the News Corporation building with great efficiency.

After about 15 minutes, Gavin finally came out, but when people saw the large group of people behind him, the entire internet exploded.

"Those are News Corp. board member Tony Aldridge and Theodore Xavier, along with the CFO, department heads... It's incredible that so many people were brought out by the FBI!"

"The FBI investigation team arrived in New York and immediately took away more than a dozen high-ranking members of News Corporation. They must have some kind of secret to be so confident!"

"So many people have been taken away by the FBI; this is practically a 'home raid.'"

In a News Corporation office on the top floor, the sound of a glass shattering could be heard.

Murdoch, standing in the center of the room, had a livid face. Across from him, his secretary looked terrified but still forced a smile and said, "Sir...Garvin just now acted very tough and confidently, and he took so many of our senior executives with him. I'm afraid..."

What he wanted to say was that the FBI probably already had some leverage, otherwise they certainly wouldn't have dared to act so openly, but in the end he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

In fact, there was no need for him to say it. As a cunning old fox who had been in the business world for decades, Murdoch was well aware that the FBI investigation team would not dare to come directly to their headquarters without any leverage.

How could they take so many high-ranking officials away in front of the whole world?

What exactly did David find out about them, and what did he give to Gavin, that lackey?

Just as Murdoch was still brooding over the matter, there was a knock on the office door, which was pushed open, and entered another of his secretaries. The man said in a flustered manner, "Sir, due to the incident just now, our market value plummeted as soon as the stock market opened. If this continues... it may conservatively drop by more than 20 percent."

A group's market value is conservatively estimated to drop by 20%, which may sound exaggerated, but Murdoch knows that, given the current situation, it may not be an exaggeration at all.

It's worth noting that when the 9/11 wiretapping scandal broke, their group's stock price dropped by 15 percentage points.

Now, not only has this incident resurfaced, but more importantly, the FBI just took away so many of their group's top executives, which will definitely severely undermine market confidence in their group.

No, I have to do something!

After thinking for a moment, Murdoch said, "Hold a press conference, and I... oh no, let Marion speak to stabilize the market."

As the founder of News Corporation, and with the reputation he has built up over the years, his mere presence would surely rekindle market confidence in the group.

However, he realized there was a problem: he didn't know what David had given to the FBI.

If the FBI does eventually obtain some evidence against their organization, his press conference remarks could put him in a passive position later on.

So, just to be on the safe side, he ultimately decided to find a scapegoat.

Soon, News Corporation's press conference officially began.

Marion, a board member who was not taken away for investigation, stepped forward and made a guarantee in front of the whole country, stating that News Corporation had not committed any illegal acts or engaged in any 9/11 wiretapping activities.

Following this, News Corp., with its powerful media channels, actually managed to convince many people of the group's innocence, thus restoring some confidence in the stock market.

Of course, despite this, News Corp's market capitalization still fell by more than 8 percent in just one day.

Murdoch couldn't sleep that night.

When the next morning arrived, he arrived at the office early.

According to the law, the FBI cannot detain a suspect for more than 24 hours without evidence or other circumstances.

So if those high-ranking officials who were taken away yesterday are released today, it means that the FBI was just bluffing and had no real evidence, then he can breathe a sigh of relief.

Time ticked by, and it reached 9:20.

Even though Murdoch has been a prominent figure in the business world for decades, he was nervously staring at his watch at this moment. But the next second, there was another knock on his office door.

When he saw that it was his secretary who came in, and that she looked rather grim, his mood immediately sank.

"Sir, the FBI just released some documents showing that we did indeed establish a 'surveillance department' during the period around 9/11. Here are the documents, please take a look."

As he spoke, he placed the tablet in front of Murdoch.

After carefully reading through the contents, Murdoch's expression immediately turned grim, because it did indeed involve some confidential information from their group.

But he quickly regained his composure and said, "What can this information prove? Besides, the department we established isn't his so-called surveillance department; it's just a department that collects news-related content!"

"This certainly can't be used as direct evidence, but the timing of it coincides with 9/11, which will definitely fuel the speculations of those who were already skeptical of us..."

"Giggle giggle..."

As they were talking, there was another knock on the door. The person who came in reported, "Sir, breaking news: the FBI has obtained some key information and has applied to the court for an extension of the detention period for our high-ranking officials, which has been approved."

"Damn it, what are they trying to do!"

Murdoch cursed loudly, but he also vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

The FBI first took a large number of their high-ranking officials back to the US, and then remained silent until today, when the release date was approaching. Suddenly, they released a document extending the detention period for their high-ranking officials, and the court approved it so quickly.

Why does this feel like it's all interconnected?

"Beep beep beep..."

The ringing of the phone brought Murdoch back to his senses. He picked up his phone and saw that it was Solos calling. After hesitating for a moment, he answered and said, "I'm very busy right now, just say what's on your mind, Solos."

"Murdoch, something's not right. My company has detected that someone is preparing to 'buy the dip' at several of your subsidiaries after your company's stock price plummeted."

"What did you say?!"

Murdoch was shocked.

As a stock market tycoon, and with his hedge fund company being renowned on Wall Street, it's highly likely that Soros was right when he detected this.

Were all those previous events orchestrated to align with the stock market?

"Although we don't know who these people in the stock market are, it's certain that they're connected to David. You need to be careful, lest you end up losing control of News Corporation, which would have very serious consequences."

Actually, there was no need for Soros's reminder; at this moment, Murdoch already felt his hands and feet getting cold and was sweating profusely.

His high position in the Freemasonry group was entirely due to his control over the group's core propaganda tools.

Once control is lost, one's status will certainly plummet.

But that's not the worst part. The worst part is that he now has a bold guess in his mind.

That means David got the FBI to target him, resulting in arrests, document releases, extended detentions, and now these actions in the stock market. It's likely not just about retaliating against his group; it could also be about seizing control of the media.

Once this tool falls into David's hands, and he uses it to attack, damage, and smear the image of the Jews, then they will be left standing there and taking the beating!

Murdoch dared not think any further. He immediately roared, "Forget about those in custody for now! Have all departments and companies tighten their grip on assets, lest someone take advantage of the situation and 'seize' their property!"

(End of this chapter)