9 Questions for Rupert

Rupert Murdoch’s appearance before a parliamentary select committee is drawing the kind of international attention usually reserved for royal marriages. The committee, appropriately enough, is for “culture, media and sport,” and the Elizabethan sport that public anticipation calls to mind is that of bear baiting: a powerful, blinded beast maddened by small dogs. That would be to underestimate Rupert, who has been rehearsing for days, and certainly to overestimate the forensic ability of members of the committee (“selected” from unpromoted MPs, but in no qualitative sense “select”). It will operate under severe constraints as a result of the arrest of Rebekah Brooks.

The main constraint will be the presumption of innocence—or at least the British sense of fair play: Ms. Brooks was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to hack unlawfully and to corrupt police, and the Murdochs themselves may soon follow her into the finger-printing room. So "The Wapping Three" have a right to remain silent. When the Maxwells were called before a select committee inquiring into the pilfering of The Mirror pension fund, they brought along George Carman, the country’s top barrister.

The Murdochs will be tempted to attend with a row of Queen’s Counsels—a purse of silks, so to speak—but this would be a public-relations error.  If Rupert ever says, “I will not answer that question on the grounds it could incriminate me,” News Limited shares would go into freefall. His best strategy would be to adopt the pose that enabled some screenwriters to survive dishonor before the McCarthy hearings—“I will answer any and every question about my own role but because others may face criminal investigation, Mr. Chairman, you will understand why it would be improper for me to speak what I know about them.” This pose plays well—it suggests courage in taking all responsibility, although in reality it masks a position that covers up part of the truth.
The committee hearing may well disappoint, because it is not designed for cross-examination. U.S. Senate committees have counsel and investigators, and their questioning can last hours and be very searching. U.K. select committees have few staff and limited time for a few questions from each committee member. There can be no effective cross-examination, which usually requires sustained questioning before it can be effective. “Laying the ground” is the most important part of the art. In court, it might go like this...

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Geoffrey Robertson @'The Daily Beast'