British prosecutors have charged two former top executives at Rupert Murdoch’s News International with bribing public officials for information. Rebekah Brooks, a former editor and one-time head of News International, is accused of conspiring to pay $160,000 in bribes to a British Defense Ministry official over a seven-year period. Brooks has been a close confidante of Murdoch’s, as well as a friend of British Prime Minister David Cameron. In a separate incident, Andy Coulson, a former editor who once served as Cameron’s spokesperson, is also facing bribery charges. Coulson and Brooks already face criminal charges stemming from the scandal that led to the shutdown of Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid last year amidst revelations executives and reporters conspired to hack phones and intercept communications.