Journalist and media consultant Timothy Burke was arrested and charged with 14 federal hacking and conspiracy crimes on Thursday in connection with leaked videos of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that circulated last year.
According to the federal indictment, Burke, 45, and an unnamed co-conspirator hacked into Fox News servers to illegally obtain videos damaging to Carlson and the network. These videos, which were released online by several media outlets after Carlson’s firing last spring, include behind-the-scenes footage from 2022 of the newscaster bashing an attorney for Dominion Voting Systems (which was suing him at the time) as a “slimy little mother****r.”
A separate video showed unaired clips of Carlson’s interview with rapper Kanye West, who made several antisemitic remarks.
For his alleged role in the hacking, Burke now faces one count of Conspiracy; six counts of Intentionally Accessing a Protected Computer Without Authorization; five counts of Intentional Interception of a Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communication; and two counts of Intentionally Disclosing Illegally Intercepted Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communication.
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Per the indictment, “[Timothy Burke] played multiple roles in the conspiracy, including utilizing compromised credentials to gain unauthorized access to protected computers, scouring those protected computers for electronic items and information, obtaining and stealing electronic items and information deemed desirable, organizing and exploiting some of those electronic items and information, and intercepting and disclosing the contents of wire, oral, and/or electronic video communications.”
Fox News and Tucker Carlson are not named in the court documents, but “a multinational media company headquartered in New York City, New York” is mentioned in the filings.
Burke’s home in Tampa, Florida—which he shares with his wife, far-left City Council Member Lynn Hurtak—was raided by the FBI in May 2023 in connection with the alleged hacking. At the time, federal agents seized a number of computers and hard drives associated with Burke Communications, through which Burke has consulted for clients HBO and ESPN. He previously worked for outlets including Deadspin and The Daily Beast, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
Burke and his defense team have maintained the journalist’s innocence in connection with the hacking, instead claiming that he obtained the videos through legitimate means.
“It’s not hacking, it’s just good investigative journalism,” attorney Michael Maddux told the Times on Thursday afternoon. “We obviously emphatically deny these charges and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to defend him and exonerate him.”
The full indictment against Timothy Burke can be read below:
Fox-News-Hacker-Timothy-Burke-IndictmentDownload
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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