PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Hewlett Packard Co.'s chairwoman resigned Friday, the latest casualty of the California company's scandal of spying on reporters and its own directors.
Patricia Dunn had planned to step down Jan. 18 a looming congressional probe and the possibility of criminal charges against top Hewlett Packard officials prompted her replacement with Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd.
Hurd said Friday in a public statement that was broadcast live, but without video, that he did not approve the use of tracer technology in e-mail messages sent to root out boardroom leaks. He also said Hewlett Packard had hired outside legal counsel to fully investigate the scandal and apologized for the scandal.
"On behalf of HP I extend my sincerest apologies to the journalists investigated and to everyone impacted," he said.
"What began as an effort to prevent the leaks of confidential information from HP's boardroom ended up heading in directions that were never anticipated. HP is working hard to determine exactly what took place and when, and without all the facts it has been difficult for us to respond to the questions that have been raised."
