BREAKING: Attorney General Says Justice Department Investigating News Corp.

On Tuesday, ThinkProgress launched a petitionrequesting a Department of Justice investigation into potential violations of U.S. law by News Corporation. In the last four days, over 13,000 people signed the petition and eight members of Congress joined our call for an investigation.

Today, speaking in Australia, Attorney General Eric Holder announced he is starting an investigation of News Corp.:

“There has been members of Congress in the U.S. who have asked us to investigate those same allegations and we are progressing in that regard using the appropriate federal law enforcement agencies,” Holder told reporters

A federal law enforcement source told CNN, “We’ll be looking at anyone acting for or on behalf of News Corp., from the top down to janitors” to determine if there have been any violations of U.S. law.