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Former Murdoch Aides to Be Charged With Bribery Former Murdoch Aides to Be Charged With Bribery
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LONDON — In a dramatic new turn in the scandals swirling around Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper outpost, prosecutors said on Tuesday that two former top executives — Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks — will be charged with paying bribes of up to $160,000 to public officials. LONDON — In a dramatic new turn in the scandals swirling around Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper outpost, prosecutors said on Tuesday that two former top executives will be charged with paying bribes of up to $160,000 to public officials in addition to several earlier charges against them.
The development has far-reaching implications for Prime Minister David Cameron, who hired Mr. Coulson, a former editor of The News of the World tabloid, as his director of communications while in opposition and kept him on after coming to power in the 2010 elections. On Tuesday, Mr. Coulson, 44, denied the allegations, which related to periods before he joined Mr. Cameron’s staff, and said he would fight them in court. The Crown Prosecution Service identified the onetime aides as Rebekah Brooks, 44, and Andy Coulson, 44, both of whom have had close personal or professional ties to Prime Minister David Cameron. The British leader hired Mr. Coulson as his director of communications while in opposition and kept him on after coming to power in the 2010 elections.
When he hired Mr. Coulson in 2007, Mr. Cameron said that he accepted the aide’s assurances that he was not involved in any criminal wrongdoing while editing The News of the World. But the Labour opposition has frequently accused Mr. Cameron of poor judgment for taking him on and defending him before he quit four years later. On Tuesday, Mr. Coulson, 44, a former editor of The News of the World tabloid, denied two counts relating to periods before he joined Mr. Cameron’s staff in 2007, and said he would fight them in court.
Ms. Brooks, who faced a single charge of conspiring with another journalist to pay $160,000 over seven years to a defense ministry official, was also a neighbor and personal friend of Mr. Cameron. Ms. Brooks, who faced a single charge of conspiring with another journalist to pay $160,000 over seven years to a defense ministry official, was a neighbor and personal friend of Mr. Cameron.
In one of several inquiries into the hacking scandal, she testified in May that they kept in touch by telephone, text message and e-mail, meeting at lunches and dinners and socializing at parties, summer outings and Christmas celebrations.In one of several inquiries into the hacking scandal, she testified in May that they kept in touch by telephone, text message and e-mail, meeting at lunches and dinners and socializing at parties, summer outings and Christmas celebrations.
The Crown Prosecution Service said on Tuesday that Mr. Coulson and Ms. Brooks, the former chief executive of News International, the British newspaper subsidiary of Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation, were among five people who should be charged as part of a police inquiry called Operation Elveden. The investigation ran in parallel with other investigations related to a phone hacking scandal that led to the closing of The News of the World. The charge of bribing a defense ministry official is potentially the most serious of all those drawn up by prosecutors in the scandal that has enveloped the Murdoch empire in Britain.
Among the five were Clive Goodman, a former royal correspondent at The News of the World, who served a brief jail term in 2007 for hacking into voice mail accounts in the royal household. Under a new bribery act passed by the British parliament in 2010, described by British legal experts as one of the toughest statutes of its kind anywhere, the maximum penalty for bribing a public official is 10 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine, but the statute also provides for much lesser penalties.
“We have concluded, following a careful review of the evidence, that Clive Goodman and Andy Coulson should be charged with two conspiracies,” said prosecutor Alison Levitt. “The allegations relate to the request and authorization of payments to public officials in exchange for information, including a palace phone directory known as the ‘Green Book’ containing contact details for the royal family and members of the household.” The accusations seem certain to precipitate a new debate about the practice known in Britain as “checkbook journalism”, common for many years, under which editors, reporters and investigators have paid sources clandestinely for information, or provided them with other benefits. A defense often made of the practice has been that the information obtained in this way serves the public interest, particularly when a resulting article exposes waste or dishonesty in public office.
The Crown Prosecution Service said on Tuesday that Mr. Coulson and Ms. Brooks, the former chief executive of News International, the British newspaper subsidiary of Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation, were among five people to be charged as part of a police inquiry called Operation Elveden. The investigation ran in parallel with other investigations related to a phone hacking scandal that led to the closing of The News of the World.
 Among the five were Clive Goodman, a former royal correspondent at The News of the World, who served a brief jail term in 2007 for hacking into voice mail accounts in the royal household. A sixth potential suspect, apparently a public officials, is still being investigated.
“We have concluded, following a careful review of the evidence, that Clive Goodman and Andy Coulson should be charged with two conspiracies,” said prosecutor Alison Levitt. “The allegations relate to the request and authorization of payments to public officials in exchange for information, including a palace phone directory known as the ‘Green Book’ containing contact details for the royal family and members of the household.” The accusation did not mention any amounts of money.
Mr. Coulson was deputy editor of The News of the World from 2000 to 2003 and editor from 2003 to 2007, when he became Mr. Cameron’s spokesman. He resigned in 2011 as the hacking scandal intensified. The charges against him relate to two periods between August 2002 and January 2003 and January and June of 2005, before he joined Mr. Cameron’s office, the prosecutors said.Mr. Coulson was deputy editor of The News of the World from 2000 to 2003 and editor from 2003 to 2007, when he became Mr. Cameron’s spokesman. He resigned in 2011 as the hacking scandal intensified. The charges against him relate to two periods between August 2002 and January 2003 and January and June of 2005, before he joined Mr. Cameron’s office, the prosecutors said.
Ms. Brooks, who was editor of The Sun tabloid between 2003 and 2009, will face charges along with the newspaper’s former chief reporter between 1990 and 2011, John Kay, and an employee of the Defense Ministry, Bettina Jordan-Barber. The accusation relates to payments for information said to total 100,000 pounds, around $160,000. When he hired Mr. Coulson, Mr. Cameron said he accepted his aide’s assurances that he was not involved in any criminal wrongdoing while editing The News of the World. But the Labour opposition has frequently accused Mr. Cameron of poor judgment for taking him on and defending him before he quit.
Ms. Brooks, who was editor of The Sun tabloid between 2003 and 2009, will face charges along with John Kay, the newspaper’s former chief reporter between 1990 and 2011, and an employee of the Defense Ministry, Bettina Jordan-Barber.
“We have concluded, following a careful review of the evidence, that Bettina Jordan-Barber, John Kay and Rebekah Brooks should be charged with a conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office between 1 January 2004 and 31 January 2012,” Ms. Levitt said.“We have concluded, following a careful review of the evidence, that Bettina Jordan-Barber, John Kay and Rebekah Brooks should be charged with a conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office between 1 January 2004 and 31 January 2012,” Ms. Levitt said.
“This conspiracy relates to information allegedly provided by Bettina Jordan-Barber for payment, which formed the basis of a series of news stories published by The Sun. It is alleged that approximately £100,000 was paid to Bettina Jordan-Barber between 2004 and 2011.”“This conspiracy relates to information allegedly provided by Bettina Jordan-Barber for payment, which formed the basis of a series of news stories published by The Sun. It is alleged that approximately £100,000 was paid to Bettina Jordan-Barber between 2004 and 2011.”
Mr. Kay, 69, was charged at a London police station on Tuesday and is set to appear in court on Nov. 29.Mr. Kay, 69, was charged at a London police station on Tuesday and is set to appear in court on Nov. 29.
The hacking scandal itself reached a climax in July 2011, when Mr. Murdoch closed The News of the World and Ms. Brooks resigned as chief executive of News International.The hacking scandal itself reached a climax in July 2011, when Mr. Murdoch closed The News of the World and Ms. Brooks resigned as chief executive of News International.
Since then, Parliament and the police have launched investigations while a separate inquiry led by Lord Justice Sir Brian Leveson has called scores of witnesses, including Mr. Murdoch and his son James, to testify about the practices and behavior of the British press.In the course of the Operation Elveden investigation, more than 50 people have been arrested; two of them have been told they will face no further action.Since then, Parliament and the police have launched investigations while a separate inquiry led by Lord Justice Sir Brian Leveson has called scores of witnesses, including Mr. Murdoch and his son James, to testify about the practices and behavior of the British press.In the course of the Operation Elveden investigation, more than 50 people have been arrested; two of them have been told they will face no further action.
Ms. Brooks, 44, is among a group of former Murdoch employees who are to face trial next year on charges related to the scandals at the company. Ms. Brooks, 44, is among a group of former Murdoch employees who are to face trial next year on charges related to the scandals.
Altogether, more than 50 former newspaper executives, lawyers, editors, reporters and investigators have been arrested and questioned in extensive police inquiries.Altogether, more than 50 former newspaper executives, lawyers, editors, reporters and investigators have been arrested and questioned in extensive police inquiries.
At a court appearance in May, Ms. Brooks was charged along with her husband, a well-known racehorse trainer, and four other people with perverting the course of justice by concealing documents, computers and other evidence from detectives.At a court appearance in May, Ms. Brooks was charged along with her husband, a well-known racehorse trainer, and four other people with perverting the course of justice by concealing documents, computers and other evidence from detectives.
In June, she returned to court for a hearing on charges relating to the phone hacking scandal.In June, she returned to court for a hearing on charges relating to the phone hacking scandal.
And in September, she appeared in court again, this time along with Mr. Coulson, on charges of intercepting communications without lawful authority, including an incident in which News of the World employees broke into the voice mail account of Milly Dowler, a schoolgirl who was murdered. Mr. Coulson also faces separate perjury charges in Scotland.And in September, she appeared in court again, this time along with Mr. Coulson, on charges of intercepting communications without lawful authority, including an incident in which News of the World employees broke into the voice mail account of Milly Dowler, a schoolgirl who was murdered. Mr. Coulson also faces separate perjury charges in Scotland.
Before her fall, Ms. Brooks was a close confidante of Mr. Murdoch and one of the most powerful figures in the British news media.Over nearly 20 years with the company, she rose rapidly to become editor of The News of the World, a weekly, and later of The Sun, Britain’s most widely circulated daily paper, before being promoted to chief executive of News International in 2009. Before her fall, Ms. Brooks was a close confidante of Mr. Murdoch and one of the most powerful figures in the British news media. Over nearly 20 years with the company, she rose rapidly to become editor of The News of the World, a weekly, and later of The Sun, Britain’s most widely circulated daily paper, before being promoted to chief executive of News International in 2009.
As the scandal erupted, Mr. Murdoch flew to London to offer a public show of support for Ms. Brooks, who had been his personal choice to lead his British newspaper operation. But she resigned shortly afterward with a lucrative severance package that included continued use of a chauffeur-driven car and the payment of legal fees.As the scandal erupted, Mr. Murdoch flew to London to offer a public show of support for Ms. Brooks, who had been his personal choice to lead his British newspaper operation. But she resigned shortly afterward with a lucrative severance package that included continued use of a chauffeur-driven car and the payment of legal fees.
The Crown Prosecution Service said on Tuesday that the charges against Ms. Brooks and Mr. Coulson related to two files of evidence sent by detectives at Scotland Yard. It did not say when charges would be formally brought against her and the other four people named in the evidence.The Crown Prosecution Service said on Tuesday that the charges against Ms. Brooks and Mr. Coulson related to two files of evidence sent by detectives at Scotland Yard. It did not say when charges would be formally brought against her and the other four people named in the evidence.
Alongside Operation Elveden, police are conducting Operation Weeting relating to accusations of phone hacking and Operation Tuleta which concerns computer hacking and other privacy breaches.Alongside Operation Elveden, police are conducting Operation Weeting relating to accusations of phone hacking and Operation Tuleta which concerns computer hacking and other privacy breaches.