Tim Burke, the husband of Tampa city council member Lynn Hurtak, has been charged with federal crimes linked to accusations of hacking into computer systems, including those at Fox News.
The federal indictment, unsealed on Thursday, charges Burke with conspiracy, unauthorized access to protected computers, and intercepting communications. Burke’s media firm, Burke Communications, has drawn national attention due to these allegations.
The indictment describes a complex operation that used Twitter and Google service accounts for communication. Allegedly, Burke and a yet-to-be-named associate infiltrated servers for multiple entities and pilfered sensitive material dating back to February 2022.
This legal action follows a previous FBI search of the couple’s Seminole Heights home in May 2023. At that time, Hurtak commented that the raid was related to Burke’s journalistic work but did not elaborate.
The case arose when segments from unaired footage of Tucker Carlson’s interview with Kanye West surfaced online, causing ripple effects due to the controversial nature of West’s comments. It is believed Burke sourced this content from broadcast feed servers open to the public and recorded it independently.
The controversy extends to claims that Vice News aired another video showing Carlson in an unfavorable light based on material from the leaked content. The Department of Justice issued a notification to Media Matters and Fox News that an inquiry into illegal interceptions would be conducted, clarifying that they are not direct subjects of this probe.
Burke’s defense alleges their client was performing duties as an investigative journalist and did not partake in any illegal activity, such as stealing login credentials or breaking terms of service, arguing that the accessed information was not safeguarded and was available openly to the public.
The indictment lists several affected parties, including New York 1, a TV station in New York City; National Sports League, a professional sports entity; and StreamCo, a media streaming service based in the U.S. The document details repeated unauthorized access and interception by Burke, who is said to have used intricate means to obscure his digital trail, including recording the media onto different devices and altering file properties.
Burke now faces one count of conspiracy, six counts of computer access without authority, and seven counts of intercepting communications.
