A leftist blogger has been arrested for allegedly hacking into Fox News and leaking videos of Tucker Carlson to Media Matters.
Timony Burke was arrested on Thursday and charged with 14 federal charges related to the hacking.
The indictment also lists an unnamed co-conspirator. It states that 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.”
Burke is married to far-Left Tampa City Council member Lynn Hurtak. Their home was raided by the FBI over the hack in May 2023.
The Tampa Bay Times reports, "Burke runs Burke Communications, a media and political consulting company. He produces a wide range of video content, including for high-profile media clients like HBO and ESPN. He previously worked for the online news outlets Deadspin and the Daily Beast."
Hurtak provided a statement to the paper which read, “I am confident in my husband’s innocence, and I support him completely,” Hurtak stated. “I will not be making additional statements regarding this matter.”
The hacking took place while Carlson was still working at the network. Among the stolen materials was unaired footage from his interview with Kanye West.
The blogger has been charged with one count of Conspiracy; six counts of Intentionally Accessing 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.
Lawyers representing Burke are arguing that the hack and subsequent leaking of materials is just "journalism" and therefore protected under the First Amendment.
“It’s not hacking, it’s just good investigative journalism,” Burke’s attorney, Michael Maddux, said before entering court on Thursday, according to a report from the Daily Wire. “We obviously emphatically deny these charges and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to defend him and exonerate him.”
The Freedom of the Press Foundation is also defending Burke, claiming that the indictment “threatens journalists’ ability to gather information online by implying that they have a previously unrecognized duty to ask for express permission to use information they find posted on the internet.”
