A federal grand jury has issued a new indictment against a former Deadspin video editor who is accused of stealing and leaking unaired footage from Fox News programming several years ago.
The superseding indictment was signed last Thursday, according to court documents obtained and reviewed by The Desk, charging political consultant Timothy Burke with violation federal computer hacking and conspiracy laws and for illegally disclosing intercepted electronic communications without authorization.
The indictment alleges many of the same claims that federal prosecutors charged against Burke in early 2024, but it corrects some wiretapping-related claims that a judge dismissed earlier this year.
According to court records and sources familiar with the case, Burke is accused of working with a Washington-area man, Marco Gaudino, to scour the Internet for usernames and passwords that unlocked access to online services used by sports leagues and media organizations.
Credentials accidentally posted to the website of a CBS News Radio affiliate gave Burke unfettered access to raw video transmissions of Fox News programming, some of which he recorded and later leaked to Vice News and Media Matters for America.
Through his attorneys, Burke does not dispute accessing the feeds. They positioned his activity as the work of a meticulous, digital-focused journalist who found and distributed newsworthy material. Burke stopped describing himself as a journalist when he became a political consultant, but he embraced the title after federal investigators raided his home in an apparent effort to court public support during his political fight.
Prosecutors say Burke had no business accessing the online service used by Fox News and other media outlets because he didn’t work for the companies and didn’t have explicit permission to log in and take what he found.
Burke’s attorneys initially tried to distance their client from Gaudino, his alleged co-conspirator, by saying the two men had never met before and claiming Burke didn’t know who he was. Gaudino ultimately reached a plea deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to house arrest and probation after agreeing to testify against Burke should the case go to trial.
The trial has been delayed numerous times while prosecutors and Burke’s defense team work through procedural matters. That includes a motion to dismiss certain charges in the original indictment; last year, a federal judge overseeing the case agreed the government’s insistence on charging Burke with wiretapping-related violations was problematic.
Prosecutors initially appealed the judge’s decision, but dropped the matter after failing to secure approvals from the Office of the Solicitor General, court records showed.
Burke’s lawyers have since moved to have the entire case against him tossed permanently, saying the government’s appeal delayed Burke’s constitutional right to a speedy trial. The superseding indictment came after Burke’s lawyers filed their most-recent motion to dismiss.
A federal judge has scheduled a tentative trial date for December 7.
