The FBI has reportedly opened an investigation into a potential criminal hacking of Fox News computers, which may have resulted in the theft of documents and footage later leaked to other media outlets.
A federal prosecutor in Tampa, Florida alerted Fox News of the investigation in a letter obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, describing the investigation into stolen material, including unaired video of Tucker Carlson, who was fired in April.
As part of the investigation, the FBI earlier this month searched the home of media consultant Tim Burke and his wife, Tampa City Council member Lynn Hurtak, the Times said, citing people familiar with the investigation.
The letter to Fox, from Assistant US Attorney Jay Trezevant, says that the investigation relates to unaired footage of Carlson’s interview with Kanye West published by Vice News, and a series of leaked videos published by Media Matters for America, a left-leaning media watchdog.
The letter specifically notes that Vice News and Media Matters are not accused of any wrongdoing in the case, saying that the investigation is focused on crimes by ‘other subjects’ that do not include Fox News employees.
The FBI has reportedly opened an investigation into a potential criminal hacking of Fox News computers and alleged theft of unaired footage of former host Tucker Carlson
As part of the investigation, the FBI earlier this month searched the home of media consultant Tim Burke and his wife, Tampa City Council member Lynn Hurtak, seen together above
The letter asks Fox to preserve information and records related to the investigation, refers to the network ‘as one of the potential victim-witnesses’ of criminal conduct, according to the Times.
In October, Vice published an article titled ‘Watch the Disturbing Kanye Interview Clips That Tucker Carlson Didn’t Put on Air’ containing multiple clips of the former Fox News host’s sit-down with the rapper.
The clips include West making a number of anti-semitic statements, as well as strange ramblings about ‘fake children’ he claimed were planted in his house.
The interview aired several weeks before West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, was banned from Twitter and widely denounced over a rant professing his ‘love’ of Nazis and admiration for Adolf Hitler.
Separately, Media Matters has published a series of behind-the-scenes clips of Carlson following his firing earlier this month, under the title FOXLEAKS.
In one clip, Carlson joked about ‘post-menopausal fans’ and makes a comment about someone’s girlfriend being ‘yummy’. In another, he calls a lawyer for Dominion a ‘slimy little motherf***er’.
‘Reporting on newsworthy leaked material is a cornerstone of journalism,’ Media Matters president Angelo Carusone said in a statement to DailyMail.com on Friday.
In October, Vice published an article containing multiple clips of the former Fox News host Carlson’s sit-down with the rapper Kanye West, seen above
‘Over the years, Media Matters has reported on leaked materials exposing Fox’s misinformation, malevolence, and malfeasance,’ added Carusone.
‘We’re going to continue doing just that. Like any respectable media outlet, we won’t discuss confidential sourcing of any of our materials,’ he said.
Fox News and the Justice Department declined to comment. Vice did not immediately respond to requests for comment from DailyMail.com.
According to the Times, the FBI’s probe led investigators to the Tampa home shared by the media consultant Burke and his city councilor wife. Agents executed a search on the home on May 8.
Burke, 44, has not been accused of any wrongdoing or criminally charged. He declined to comment to the Times and could not be reached for comment by DailyMail.com.
The search warrant application for Burke’s home has not been made public.
Investigators typically have to demonstrate probable cause to a judge to obtain a search warrant, but a warrant authorization does not always result in criminal charges.
In a prior statement, Burke’s wife Hurtak said the FBI search appeared to be solely related to her husband’s work as a journalist.
Burke is a prominent consultant in the media world, and runs Burke Communications, a media and political consulting company.
He also has worked as a journalist for news websites including Deadspin and the Daily Beast.
The website for Burke’s consulting company has been offline since the FBI search of his home, the Times reported.
In a legal letter to Media Matters earlier this month , Fox News asked the group to stop publishing unaired footage in the FOXLEAKS series
Carlson and his wife Susan Andrews are seen soon after his dismissal from Fox in late April
In a legal letter to Media Matters earlier this month, Fox News asked the group to stop publishing unaired footage in the FOXLEAKS series.
The letter does not address how the footage may have leaked, but says that the network ‘did not consent to its distribution or publication,’ according to a copy of the letter obtained by DailyMail.com.
‘This proprietary material was given to you without FOX’s authorization,’ the letter added.
At the time, Media Matters publicly rejected Fox’s legal demand, insisting that it had the right to cover newsworthy leaked materials and saying it would continue to do so.
