WASHINGTON — The main players in Hewlett-Packard Co.'s corporate spying drama faced outraged lawmakers Thursday, agreeing on only one thing: Someone else caused the mess.
Chief Executive Mark V. Hurd said responsibility ultimately rested with him. But then he asserted he had been unaware of just how far HP had gone in snooping on board members and journalists.
Former board Chairwoman Patricia C. Dunn, who initiated the probe into boardroom leaks, said she had assumed that HP executives were running a legal investigation.
And three executives -- all of whom have resigned over the scandal -- along with seven private detectives and contractors who may have improperly obtained phone records in the probe, didn't say much at all. That's because they exercised their 5th Amendment right not to testify on the advice of their lawyers in the face of criminal investigations.
"It's a sad day for this proud company," Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said.
Thursday began with HP announcing the resignation of General Counsel Ann O. Baskins, who executives and documents indicated helped direct the investigation. She later declined to testify.
It ended with Hurd vowing to restore the image of the Silicon Valley icon that started humbly in a garage and grew into one of the world's technology leaders.
"I pledge that HP will take whatever steps necessary to make sure nothing like this ever happens again," he told members of the House Energy and Commerce investigative subcommittee. "And I pledge that this company will regain not just its reputation as a model citizen with the highest ethical standards, but we will regain our pride."
That pride has taken a beating over the last several weeks as revelations have continued to emerge about the steps the Palo Alto-based company took to identify who was leaking information. Investigators working for the company followed board members, journalists and their relatives, impersonated them to obtain personal phone records, sent an e-mail with tracking software to a reporter and even combed through trash.
The House subcommittee summoned all of the main figures in the controversy to Capitol Hill -- eight required subpoenas to show up -- and administered a tongue-lashing.
Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) called HP's internal probe "a plumber's operation that would make Richard Nixon blush." Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) said it was a mix of "Keystone Kops," "Mission: Impossible" and "All the President's Men."
