Police Raid Dems Home, Tucker Carlson Drama Heats Up
The FBI’s involvement in an investigation of computer intrusions and intercepted communications at Fox News last month has raised questions about the source of leaked videos of Tucker Carlson that made him look more sympathetic than originally thought.
Tampa City Council Member Lynn Hurtak and her husband Tim Burke, a media consultant, were the first to be questioned by the FBI in this investigation. Hurtak claims that the search was related to her husband’s journalism work. The search yielded computers, a phone, and other equipment belonging to Burke.
Assistant US Attorney Jay Trezevant wrote a letter to Fox asking them to preserve records related to the investigation, which he described as “one of the potential victim-witnesses” of alleged criminal conduct. The letter also outlined the types of illegal conduct being investigated, which included “unauthorized computer access; interception of wire, oral or electronic communication; conspiracy; and other federal crimes.”
At this point, the FBI is not commenting on the case, and Burke’s lawyer Mark Raisch has denied any wrongdoing on the part of his client. However, the letter from the federal prosecutor does specifically state that Vice or Media Matters are not accused of any wrongdoing. It also says that the alleged illegal conduct did not include Fox News employees or affiliates.
This case revolves around a story by Vice about unaired Kanye West videos and the Media Matters series “FOXLEAKS” featuring the Tucker Carlson clips. Fox had previously sent Media Matters a cease and desist letter regarding their use of the leaked materials.
So it appears that the leaked materials actually came from an insider outside of Fox that had managed to gain unauthorized computer access. It seems clear at this point that the culprit behind the leaks was not Fox News or any of their affiliates.
The outcome of the investigation is still to be seen, but one thing is for sure – the incident backfired in a big way for whoever leaked the videos of Tucker. Instead of this making him look bad, it served to make him even more popular than he was before. This is a lesson to anyone else who is tempted to use illegal methods in attempts to take people down. Such a move can only end in failure and possible charges from the FBI.