Tom Perkins, a News Corporation board member for 15 years, is stepping down. He will be replaced by Jim Breyer, a venture capitalist with Accel Partners. Perkins’ departure will likely raise some eyebrows, says Forbes:

The timing of Perkins’ departure is sure to invite questions, given his unique history and its relevance to the legal challenges currently confronting News Corp. Perkins became a champion of corporate accountability when he quit the board of Hewlett-Packard to protest an unethical leak investigation ordered by then-chairman Patricia Dunn…

After the full scale of the tabloid’s phone hacking came to light in July, one columnist called Perkins ‘the closest thing to a truly independent director’ on News Corp.’s board and the ‘best hope’ for improving governance there.

Perhaps Perkins is getting out while the getting is good, hoping to avoid being ensnared in the scandal’s fallout, but he’s denying it publicly. He told Reuters that he supports the board and Rupert Murdoch. Supports as in “I support my alcoholic friend even though he keeps making bad choices,” or supports as in “They’ve done nothing wrong so of course I support them?” You be the judge.