The man who allegedly hacked former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has been arrested.
The Daily Wire reports that federal authorities arrested 45-year-old Timony Burke on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. The outlet describes Burke as a "leftist blogger." He is married to Lynn Hurtak, whom the outlet describes as a "far-left" member of Tampa's City Council.
The arrest comes roughly nine months after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided Burke's home, which followed the unauthorized airing of videos from Carlson's former Fox News Channel program, Tucker Carlson Tonight.
CNN sums up the circumstances that led to the investigation that has now resulted in Burke's arrest.
The outlet reports:
The charges against Burke . . . followed a Justice Department criminal hacking probe opened last year after previously unaired videos from Carlson’s former Fox News show surfaced online. In one unaired clip posted by Vice in 2022, Kanye West was seen making antisemitic remarks to Carlson. The following year, after Carlson was fired from Fox News, the progressive watchdog Media Matters posted embarrassing behind-the-scenes footage of Carlson making crude remarks while joking with staff and denigrating the Fox Nation streaming service.
Now, federal authorities believe that Burke and an unidentified accomplice are behind this incident. The indictment states that the pair used "compromised credentials to gain unauthorized access to protected computers" from which they "obtained and stole" the information.
Per the indictment:
[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.
Federal authorities have charged Burke with 14 crimes.
According to CNN, Burke was charged with:
[O]ne 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 legal consequences that Burke is facing have yet to be reported.
Michael Maddux, Burke's attorney, has released a statement on behalf of his client, claiming that there is nothing illegal about Burke's actions.
"It’s not hacking, it’s just good investigative journalism," Maddux claimed.
He added, "We, obviously, emphatically deny these charges, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to defend him and exonerate him."
Tucker Carlson, at the time of this writing, has not released a statement on the matter.
