Feds Leave Kanye West Interview Counts Out Of Reworked Journalist Case

Federal prosecutors rebuilt their case against journalist Timothy Burke, but left out the specific charges tied to Kanye West’s leaked Tucker Carlson interview.

The dispute grew out of footage that exposed remarks Fox News left out of Kanye’s interview. Motherboard published clips containing antisemitic remarks and conspiracy theories, which drew attention to what viewers had not heard in the broadcast.

A grand jury returned a new indictment October 8. Burke faced 13 charges, down from 14 in the original case. Prosecutors still accused him of a wider scheme to take material from computer systems without permission.

The earlier case accused Burke of capturing the October 6, 2022 interview and sharing clips four days later.

The new indictment dropped those entries. The only charge that still accused him of sharing footage concerned a separate clip in which a host discussed a hurricane’s possible effect on his home.

The new case included conspiracy, six computer-access charges and six charges under the federal Wiretap Act.

The new version described other behind-the-scenes conversations, including a weather correspondent and camera crew preparing to cover an approaching hurricane.

The filing followed a major setback for the government. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle threw out seven Wiretap Act counts in September 2025 because prosecutors had left out facts they needed to allege and prove.

Her ruling required the government to show that Burke was not a party to the communications and that the electronic streams were not readily available to the public.

The rewritten charges added that language.

“Significant First Amendment concerns arise if I were to adopt the government’s theory. To cure this constitutional concern, I look to the statutory exceptions and conclude that the government must plead and prove two of them: that a defendant was not a ‘party to the communication’ and that any electronic communication was not ‘readily accessible to the general public,'” Mizelle wrote in the earlier ruling.

The judge allowed prosecutors to bring corrected charges. They first pursued an appeal, then abandoned that effort last month before obtaining the new indictment.

Burke’s defense has maintained that he gathered news from publicly accessible material.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press supported his challenge, warning that the government’s approach could threaten legitimate reporting.

“Burke does not dispute that he acquired the communications, but instead whether he did so consistent with the Wiretap Act exceptions. The government’s arguments (and I assume evidence) are that he did not. So although this order shifts the burden of proof on those exceptions, it does not alter the focus of the trial,” Mizelle wrote.

Burke also sought to end the prosecution over delays, citing his right to a speedy trial. His next reply in that fight was due October 16.