Update: HP general counsel quits, takes 5th

HP announced Thursday that its general counsel, Ann Baskins, had resigned, effective immediately.

Baskins, and Kevin Hunsaker, the company’s senior legal counsel, both asserted their rights not to testify under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution during the hearing.

Eight outside investigators who allegedly worked with HP to identify the board leaks also declined to testify.

It is unclear how closely involved Baskins, who worked for HP for 24 years, was in the internal investigation scandal plaguing HP. The company is being investigated for potentially using illegal methods in its hunt to uncover an internal source leaking information to the press.

In a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), HP notes that Baskins participated in meetings with private investigators where they discussed pretexting, a method of obtaining confidential records under false pretenses. One such discussion took place in a telephone conference on June 15, 2005, in the early phase of the investigations.

HP has acknowledged using pretexting, a potentially illegal practice, in its investigation.

In a statement announcing Baskins’ resignation, Mark Hurd, HP’s chairman and chief executive, commended Baskins for her hard work and said that she has put the interests of HP above her own by stepping down.

In another filing HP made to the SEC on Thursday, the company said it agreed to pay for expenses Baskins may incur related to certain lawsuits and investigations and Baskins agreed to cooperate with HP in connection with any investigations regarding the company.

HP’s chairman of the board has already resigned and other top executives including a senior counsel and the global security manager have left the company since the scandal erupted.

Baskins is among many top officials at HP that a U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee has subpoenaed, requiring them to testify as part of the committee’s investigation Thursday.