SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly dropped another name Thursday of a possible person who leaked videos of Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson to Media Matters and The New York Times (NYT).
Kelly discussed the little-known media consultant named Timothy Burke, who previously worked for the website Deadspin and the Daily Beast. He is suspected of being behind the leaks obtained by Media Matters and the NYT. The videos were released following Carlson’s departure from Fox News in April, where the former Fox News host apparently joked off-air about finding a woman “yummy” and commented about “postmenopausal women” finding him attractive.
The FBI seized computers, video equipment and other technological equipment belonging to Burke in May. Burke’s attorney, Mark Rasche, told The Washington Post his client did nothing wrong, but claimed the footage of Carlson was publicly accessible. Rasche further alleged Burke is a “master” at “finding” links of footage on the Internet.
“This is like getting so twisted,” Kelly said Thursday. “All of this is gonna be investigated. Right now, it looks like a lot of people were out to hurt Tucker Carlson.”
A U.S. attorney in Florida warned Fox News in early June its computers may have been accessed by a user without the network’s authorization and may have been illegally wiretapped. The Tampa Bay Times first reported the raid was in connection to the cybercrime, which Rasch later confirmed to The Washington Post. (RELATED: Megyn Kelly Weighs In On Tucker Carlson’s Departure, Says Fox News Made ‘Big Mistake’)
Kelly previously alleged the videos were leaked by Irena Briganti, Fox News’ Senior Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications, who allegedly always hated Carlson. She denied the allegations in a statement to the Daily Caller in early May.
Fox News is in “a deep panic” about Carlson competing against them, and are doing everything they can to avoid battling the Daily Caller co-founder, Kelly claimed. The Fox Corps general counsel warned Briganti she would be fired if caught leaking any content after she had been suspected of leaking the text messages obtained by the NYT, Kelly continued.
The text messages allegedly showed Carlson calling one of the network’s senior executives a “cunt.”
“This is how panicked they are about him, about Tucker 2.0,” she said. “They cannot have him coming out and competing against them. That’s what this is all about. So he’s turfed off to the side, but he’s gotta remain muzzled.”
Fox News accused Carlson of breaching his contract with the network after he launched his new Twitter show Tuesday. The network’s contract agrees to pay Carlson $20 million a year not to work until its expiration in January 2025.