The journalist accused of leaking videos of former Fox News star Tucker Carlson was charged Thursday with 14 federal crimes relating to computing hacking the media giant.
Tim Burke, 45, worked as part of a criminal duo that used “compromised credentials” to break into the behind-the-scenes broadcast streams before sharing them as an anonymous source, according to a federal indictment.
The pair allegedly kept the hacked clips and files on a server, which Burke’s co-conspirator described in a direct Twitter message as the main location “for all of their footage they post to social, send to partners, etc.”
The Burke Communications founder was arrested Thursday morning and appeared in court by the afternoon, with his City Council member wife watching on in support, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
“I am confident in my husband’s innocence, and I support him completely,” Lynn Hurtak said in a statement.
“I will not be making additional statements regarding this matter.”
He faces 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.
The arrest comes nearly a year after FBI agents raided the couple’s home and seized computers and electronic devices Burke used to run his media business.
Investigators landed on Burke after videos were leaked of Carlson, just days before his bombshell firing.
The former “Tucker Carlson Tonight” host was seen blasting his colleagues who cite their preferred gender pronouns and made unprofessional comments to an on-set makeup artist.
Carlson also made inappropriate remarks about a Dominion Voting Systems’ lawyer after sitting down for a deposition, but before Fox News settled a lawsuit with the company for $787.5 million.
The clips also allegedly contained footage of Kanye West making antisemitic remarks while the cameras were rolling.
Neither the conservative television star nor Fox News were mentioned in the indictment, but prosecutors noted one stream contained a video featuring a host for a “multinational media company based in New York City” on Oct. 6, 2022 — the same day Carlson’s interview with West aired on Fox News.
Burke and his legal team have long denied being connected to the leaking, instead claiming Burke obtained the video by following a hyperlink to live video feeds that didn’t require passwords and were not encrypted.
“It’s not hacking, it’s just good investigative journalism,” attorney Michael Maddux told the Times before entering the courthouse Thursday afternoon.
“We obviously emphatically deny these charges and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to defend him and exonerate him.”
Prosecutors asked that Burke be held on a $30,000 bond and for conditions that would limit his access to computers and websites that require logins not directly issued to him, which Maddux argued would hinder Burke’s ability to perform his job.
Burke was instead released, on the condition that he severs contact with his alleged co-conspirator.