Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/hewlett-packard-officials-testify-on-probe-into-media-leaks Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Mark Hurd and former Chairwoman Patricia Dunn testified in the House Thursday on the company's possibly illegal tactics when investigating media leaks. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. KWAME HOLMAN: As a House Investigative Subcommittee began hearings on the Hewlett-Packard case today, members immediately took the computer- and printer-maker's top executives to task for management involvement in an internal probe of boardroom leaks that may have spiraled into potentially illegal spying.Kentucky Republican Ed Whitfield chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee's panel looking into the matter.REP. ED WHITFIELD (R), Kentucky: We hope to get a better understanding today why no one among this group of very smart and experienced people had the good sense and courage to say, "Stop. This may be illegal, and at the very least it's not the way we should be doing business." KWAME HOLMAN: Earlier this month, HP's management acknowledged hiring private detectives to find out who among its board of directors were leaking boardroom information to reporters.In a two-part probe, one beginning in 2005, the other earlier this year, investigators impersonated HP directors and journalists to acquire the private phone records of board members. The practice is known as pretexting, and the House is working on legislation that would ban it outright. California's attorney general, the Justice Department, and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the case.Michigan Democrat John Dingell compared HP's alleged tactics to the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration.REP. JOHN DINGELL (D), Michigan: This morning, we have a fine case study in deceit, dishonesty, improper behavior, probably criminal misbehavior. And we have a fine display of arrogance, cover-up, and probably gross stupidity.Hewlett-Packard — as I mentioned, is a well-respected company in the halls of Congress, around the world — appears before us to answer for using lies and deception to obtain telephone records and other sensitive personnel information in order to uncover the source of leaks to the press.And I have to ask our witnesses: What were you thinking? Where was the management while this investigation was running amok?