A journalist accused of hacking into Fox News servers to obtain unaired videos of Tucker Carlson making unprofessional comments and interviewing Kanye West has asked for donations to pay for his defense.
Tim Burke, 45, was arrested on Thursday following an investigation into the unflattering leaked videos of the former Fox News superstar, which emerged last year days after Carlson was unceremoniously ousted from the network.
The indictment accuses the Tampa resident and an unnamed co-conspirator of using ‘compromised credentials to gain unauthorized access to protected computers,’ and scouring those computers for incriminating videos.
Burke’s lawyers claim the journalist used publicly available livestreaming sites where Fox News uploaded unencrypted footage. They claim the journalist received login credentials from an unrestricted ‘demo account,’ from a source, who found them publicly online.
His attorney, Mark Rasch, told the Washington Post last year: ‘Tim is a master at finding links to stuff publicly posted on the internet.
‘If a video is posted, public, unencrypted, and unprotected, then there’s simply no crime committed when a journalist like Tim finds it, reviews it, and accurately reports on it, even where, and maybe especially where, the subjects wish it was suppressed. That’s the essence of journalism in the digital age.’
Last year the FBI raided Burke’s home and seized the computers and electronic devices the journalist used to run his business, Burke Communications.
Burke, who currently runs his own communications company, has worked previously for outlets including The Daily Beast and Gawker.
His wife, Lynn Hurtak, is a Tampa city councilwoman, who appears to be aligned with progressive causes.
Burke 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.
He was released on the condition that he stops contact with his alleged co-conspirator.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation has said Burke’s indictment, which does not mention he is a journalist, ‘raises serious First Amendment concerns.’
The organization said in a statement: ‘Nowhere does the indictment allege that either the footage or the login credentials were not publicly available.
‘An investigative journalist’s job is to find information that powerful people would prefer to be kept secret,” said FPF Deputy Director of Advocacy Caitlin Vogus.
‘It’s a safe bet that if journalists need to ask permission to publish information that casts public figures in a negative light, the answer will often be “no.” Journalists should be encouraged to use the internet to find newsworthy information — not prosecuted for doing so.’