I tweeted about this yesterday, but I’m still amazed by this whole episode. If anyone needs proof that Rupert Murdoch runs an evil empire, here it is.

As we all know, Murchoch’s now-defunct News of the World has been accused of gaining access to confidential information, including medical and financial records, from thousands of individuals by hiring private investigators for hacking and “blagging” into mobile phones. The company is also accused of paying bribes to police officers, perhaps to block or delay criminal investigations into the company’s activities, and paying hush money to victims of their activities in the form of out-of-court settlements.

This is a huge story, Britain’s Watergate. But that’s not the proof I’m talking about.

After weeks of sensational – and entirely deserved – coverage in the New York Times and other publications of these horrendous and illegal activities by Murdoch’s employees, the empire hit back. Last week, the talking points from the Murdoch Empire must have been circulated saying it was time to hit back. It was time to accuse those other news publications of “piling it on.” It was time to try and change the subject. Typical PR tactics (and Murdoch recently hired the mega-PR firm Edelman to advise him), but wholly inept and outrageous in their execution.

So Monday morning the Wall Street Journal published a highly defensive and entirely laughable editorial that not only defended the News of the World’s activities, but castigated those other publications for dwelling on the scandal.

“It is also worth noting the irony of so much moral outrage devoted to a single media company, when British tabloids have been known for decades for buying scoops and digging up dirt on the famous. Fleet Street in general has long had a well-earned global reputation for the blind-quote, single-sourced story that may or may not be true.”

Translation: they’re all doing it so what’s the big deal? Really? They’re all illegally hacking into mobile phones of private individuals? They’re all paying off cops? And that’s OK? Just like a “blind-quote, single-sourced story that may or may not be true?”

The editorial goes on to condemn the “political mob” for demanding a criminal investigation into the tactics of News of the World as well as Murdoch’s other publications. “Do our media brethren really want to invite Congress and prosecutors to regulate how journalists gather news?”

Well, yes, if it involves illegal hacking, which is akin to wiretapping. Is the WSJ seriously arguing that newspapers have First Amendment protections to break the law in the course of their newsgathering?

But the real prize for outrageous coverage of this scandal goes to Murdoch’s Fox News. On Friday's Fox and Friends, another alleged PR expert was trotted out to say, “What’s the big deal? Move on folks, nothing to see here.” Watch this astonishing YouTube video.

Because Murdoch’s papers were doing the hacking, you dolt. I’ve never heard of Bob Dilenschneider, but he’s obviously an Edelman stooge who’s probably been paid for this clumsy attempt to defend Murdoch.

The hacking story deserves all the coverage it’s getting, and if Murdoch had a ounce of integrity, he would be apologetic and contrite instead of using his media empire to go to bat for him and try to convince an unsuspecting public that he’s a victim of hacking, just like CitiCorp and other institutions.

That’s the proof I’m talking about. Not that Murdoch had any to begin with, but whatever integrity he and his companies had for legitimate newsgathering just went out the window.