"I have no reason to think Rupert Murdoch knew about it, or that anyone from the New York Post, Fox News, knew about it, so I’m not going to get into that," King said at a breakfast event hosted by the Observer yesterday. "I think this is corruption that could be in any organization. I just thought this had to be tracked down and investigated."

King asked the F.B.I. to investigate whether journalists at News of the World had tried to hack into the phones of September 11 victims' families, and said he was "pleasantly surprised" when, within 24 hours, the bureau launched a probe. (King also got a call from Murdoch in that span, reassuring him the scandal didn't touch the U.S.)

"Ordinarily one allegation made would not be enough for me to call for a congressional investigation," he said. But the congressman, who represents a number of families who lost relatives in 9/11, said the investigation was the only way to ease their anxiety at the rumored hacking.

"This to me, it’s a moral issue," he said. "Norman Siegel is saying for the first time in 40 years, he and I agree on a major issue."

He was hopeful the investigation won't strain his "good relationship" with Murdoch, and the Post, and Fox News. "We’ll see what happens," he said.