Giuliani defends Murdoch: 'Don't rush to judgement'

The man who was mayor of New York City during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks is defending his longtime friend Rupert Murdoch against allegations that his company tried to hack the phones of 9/11 victims.

"Sure," former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told CNN's Candy Crowley Thursday. "I mean, intercepting communications like that is crime and has to be investigateded."

"I think what there shouldn't be -- and we have learned recently a bunch of criminal cases of different kinds -- don't rush to judgment. Give people a presumption of innocence. I think that just how high up it goes is a big question and when we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions about," he added.

But not all families of 9/11 victims agree with the former mayor.

"If somebody went in and took our information and took our last messages from our sons or what we were talking about, it's not none of their business unless they can ask us," Jim Riches, the father of a firefighter killed on 9/11, told CNN. "If we're willing to tell them, we will tell them. To invade privacy like that, America has rights."

Giuliani has often faced criticism for using his connection to 9/11 for political purposes.

Watch this video from CNN's Newsroom, broadcast July 15, 2011.

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