P.M. BRIEFING : Swiss Ex-Minister Faces Charges

ZURICH, Switzerland —  Former Justice Minister Elizabeth Kopp was charged today with violating official secrecy for warning her husband to quit a company subsequently linked to Switzerland’s biggest drug money-laundering investigation.

Kopp’s personal assistant and another former Justice Department official were also charged with violating secrecy, which carries a maximum prison sentence of three years or a fine.

Kopp, a Radical Democrat, in 1984 became the first woman in the Swiss government. She was forced to announce her resignation last December just days after being elected vice president.