After being arrested last year as the accused hacker of the viral clips of Tucker Carlson after his exit from Fox News, former Deadspin editor Tim Burke has been indicted in a federal court.
Burke was arrested Thursday morning in Tampa Bay, and is charged with 14 crimes, including conspiracy.
Law enforcement officials allege Burke and an unnamed accomplice used “compromised credentials” to illegally access video streams from Fox News to distribute unflattering clips of Carlson after his high-profile exit from the conservative cable outlet last April.
The complaint also alleges that Buke took “specific steps” to mask how and where the clips — which were ultimately published by Media Matters — were obtained.
Attorneys representing Burke allege he did nothing wrong in obtaining and disseminating the videos.
“It’s not hacking, it’s just good investigative journalism,” Maddux told the Tampa Bay Times Thursday. “We obviously emphatically deny these charges and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to defend him and exonerate him.”
Earlier this year, the ACLU of Florida agreed, claiming the details of Burke’s case have a “chilling effect on journalism.”
The videos of Tucker Carlson were released in a steady stream by Media Matters. Over the course of several days, clips of Carlson railing against the FOX Nation streaming service, drinking on the job, asking a makeup artist if she had pillow fights during sleepovers, and his controversial interview with rapper Kanye West that featured anti-Semitic comments from the artist were all released by the media watchdog organization.
