The Phone Hacking Trial Is Coming To A Close

Everyone's favorite probe into possible criminal malfeasance by top Rupert Murdoch executives is coming to an end.

Yes, the phone hacking trial—which could lead to the conviction of Rebekah Brooks, one of Murdoch's closest lieutenants, and Andy Coulson, a former spin doctor for the British prime minister—is in its final stages.

Brooks, Coulson and a number of other people are charged with crimes ranging from the criminal hacking of voicemails, the bribing of police officers and other officials, and the obstruction of the probe into the hacking scandal itself.

The trial has unearthed a number of startling revelations, from the alleged affair between Brooks and Coulson to the deep involvement of former prime minister Tony Blair in helping Brooks handle the fallout of the hacking scandal.

Brooks and Coulson have denied every charge against them, and have stuck to the line that they were unaware of the rampant hacking going on at the News of the World newspaper, which they both ran.

On Wednesday, lead prosecutor Andrew Edis began his summing-up before the jury. He asked the jurors to decide if people in such senior positions could conceivably not know what was going on in the businesses they led. Jurors, he said, would have to think Brooks was a "complete fool" in order to find her innocent.

The jury is expected to produce its verdict sometime in June.