Earlier this month, the FBI conducted a raid on the residence of a Tampa Bay politician in relation to a hack targeting former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, on May 8th, the FBI conducted a search at the residence of media consultant Tim Burke, a former employee of the Daily Beast and other news organizations, as well as Tampa Bay City Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak.
This search was carried out as part of an investigation into leaked video footage from Fox News.
A letter from federal prosecutors to Fox News “describes an ongoing criminal probe into computer hacks at the company, including unaired video from Tucker Carlson’s show,” according to the Tampa Bay newspaper. The letter does not cite Burke or Hurtak, but the Times confirmed the connection between the raid and the investigation.
Hurtak, an at-large councilwoman who was elected as a nonpartisan but is a registered Democrat confirmed the search after it happened.
At the time, she said it “was solely related to my husband’s work as a journalist.”
More from the Tampa Bay Times:
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Trezevant wrote the letter asking that Fox News preserve information and records related to the investigation for a period of at least 90 days. The government views the network “as one of the potential victim- witnesses” of the alleged criminal conduct, Trezevant wrote.
The investigation, according to the letter, concerns allegations of unauthorized computer access; interception of wire, oral or electronic communication; conspiracy; and other federal crimes. Trezevant is assigned to the criminal probe and is listed on court filings related to the search at Burke and Hurtak’s home.
Importantly, neither Burke nor Hurtak have been accused of wrongdoing.
Still, a judge must have agreed that federal investigators would have located evidence of a crime in the home because investigators had gathered probable cause for the search warrant. Otherwise, the search would not have been authorized.
Burke previously confirmed his name was listed on the warrant.
Moreover, neither Media Matters nor Vice, the two outlets that published the unaired Carlson footage, have been accused of wrongdoing.
It’s also not clear what exact crime federal investigators believe was committed.
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