The journalist accused of leaking behind-the-scenes footage of Tucker Carlson on his now-canceled Fox News show has been arrested for alleged computer hacks at the network.
Tim Burke, 45, was indicted Thursday on one count of conspiracy; six counts of accessing a protected computer without authorization; and seven counts of intercepting or disclosing wire, oral or electronic communications, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The federal indictment comes after FBI agents seized computers and electronic devices during a raid on Burke’s home last year, and claims that Burke and an unnamed person used “compromised credentials” to access and save protected commercial broadcast video streams and share them anonymously.
“The indictment also accuses Burke of accessing a file transfer protocol server for ‘one of the major sports leagues in North America.’ In a direct Twitter message included in the indictment, Burke’s alleged co-conspirator described the server as the main location ‘for all of their footage they post to social, send to partners, etc.,'” the report stated.
Previously employed at Deadspin and the Daily Beast, Burke now runs his own media and political consulting company that “produces a wide range of video content, including for high-profile media clients like HBO and ESPN,” the newspaper noted.
Burke’s wife, Tampa City Council member Lynn Hurtak, stood by her man in court and defended him in a statement — Burke managed her 2023 campaign for office.
“I am confident in my husband’s innocence, and I support him completely,” Hurtak said. “I will not be making additional statements regarding this matter.”
The defendant’s lawyers, Michael Maddux and Mark Rasch, decried their client’s innocence while condemning hacking.
“While we, like anyone else, condemn computer hacking, we emphatically insist that the facts of this case will demonstrate that there was, in fact, no hacking whatsoever,” the attorneys said in a statement. “This case will have a significant impact on how people in general access and use the Internet, how they use shared passwords to access websites, and how online journalism is conducted.”
They argue that Burke’s actions amount to constitutionally protected digital journalism.
“It’s not hacking, it’s just good investigative journalism,” Maddux told the Times. “We obviously emphatically deny these charges and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to defend him and exonerate him.”
Ironically, the released outtake footage was intended to harm Tucker Carlson, but the clips only made his fans love him all the more. In one such clip, Carlson declared that flaming liberals should not work at Fox News and denounced the use of pronouns.
“If you’ve got pronouns in your Twitter bio, you shouldn’t work here because we can’t trust you because you’re on the other side,” he said.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
Tom@bizpacreview.com
The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
- Muslim scholar in Chicago: ‘Islam did not come to coexist’ - December 13, 2025
- New York man calls into CSPAN and rips Dem Rep a new one - December 12, 2025
- Insane ‘blue slip’ tradition nukes another highly qualified conservative US atty - December 12, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
