Ex-Murdoch Execs to Face Bribery Charges

British prosecutors are adding new charges to the litany of accusations against former Rupert Murdoch executives. Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, both at the center of the phone-hacking scandal, will be charged with bribing public officials in exchange for stories and information, the New York Times reports. Two other News International figures, ex-News of the World royal correspondent Clive Goodman and former Sun chief reporter John Kay, will also be charged, as will a Defense Ministry employee.

Goodman and Coulson's charges are tied to payments "in exchange for information, including a palace phone directory known as the 'Green Book' containing contact details for the Royal Family," said a prosecutor. Brooks and Kay are accused of paying Defense employee Bettina Jordan-Barber some $160,000 in exchange for information between 2004 and 2011. More than 50 people have now been arrested in investigations tied to the ongoing British newspaper scandal; Brooks and others face trial next year. (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)