[CNN] The U.S. Justice Department's investigation of Fox News has widened to include a second law enforcement agency.Financial crimes experts from the United States Postal Inspection Service are now involved, according to four sources connected to the investigation.
Mail fraud and wire fraud cases are part of the USPIS purview.
Investigators from both the USPIS and the Justice Department have been conducting interviews in recent weeks -- including with some former Fox staffers -- to obtain more information about the network's managers and business practices, the sources said.
The existence of the federal investigation was revealed in February. At the time Fox News and its parent company 21st Century Fox said they had not been subpoenaed, but a spokeswoman said, "we have been in communication with the U.S. Attorney's office for months
| ...that sounds like a late Obama administration effort, for the purpose of harrassment of a long-hated opponent. But really, if they would only wait a year or two, the Murdoch sons are going to do their best to make the thing acceptable to their Manhattan friends unless Papa M. intervenes. |
Contacted about this story, the Justice Department and the USPIS had no comment. 21st Century Fox also declined to comment.
In February the investigation was reported to be focusing on settlements made with women who alleged sexual harassment by former Fox News boss Roger Ailes, and questions about whether Fox had a duty to inform shareholders about the settlement payments.
The investigators have been asking "how the shareholder money was spent; who knew; and who should have known," one of the sources said.