Over 50 organizations sent a letter demanding transparency over the FBI's May raid of journalist Tim Burke's home newsroom. The government's failure to explain how it believes Burke's newsgathering broke the law threatens to chill reporting by journalists who dig for news online. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: An FBI raid on the home newsroom of Florida journalist Tim Burke in May prompted over 50 organizations to send a letter to the Department of Justice today demanding transparency about how the government believes Burke’s newsgathering broke the law. Burke is perhaps most well known for his 2013 reporting for Deadspin that revealed that Heisman Trophy winner Manti Te'o's girlfriend, and her supposed death, were a hoax. Threats to press freedom around the world are at an all-time high. Sign up to stay up to date and take action to protect journalists and whistleblowers everywhere. Thanks for signing up for our newsletter. You are not yet subscribed! Please check your email for a message asking you to confirm your subscription. The FBI raided Burke’s home after he obtained outtakes of Tucker Carlson’s interview with Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) where Ye made antisemitic and other offensive remarks. The investigation, according to court filings, involves alleged violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or CFAA, and a federal wiretapping law. The letter notes that concerns about efforts to criminalize journalism under computer crime laws are heightened by the August police raid of the Marion County Record over a reporter verifying a news tip using a government website. The CFAA is the federal anti-hacking law that prohibits unauthorized access to a computer. But Burke says he got the outtakes from websites where Fox News uploaded unencrypted live streams to URLs anyone could access, using publicly accessible login credentials. “If that’s true, it’s highly problematic for press freedom,” . “Journalists cannot be expected to refrain from using the internet to find newsworthy content just because powerful companies would prefer to keep it private.” The public does not know exactly why prosecutors believe Burke broke the law because the government fought successfully to keep the affidavit supporting the search warrant sealed from public view, and authorities have not issued any meaningful public comment. This lack of transparency is why FPF, Florida’s First Amendment Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union took the lead on the coalition letter. The letter is also signed by national organizations including the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, PEN America, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Society of Professional Journalists, as well as broadcast media giants like Nexstar Media Group and Gray Media Group. Advocates from Burke’s home state, like the Florida Press Association and Florida Association of Broadcasters, also joined. In addition to the lack of transparency, the letter takes issue with prosecutors’ arguments that Burke is not actually a journalist, in part because he did not work for an established news outlet at the time he obtained the outtakes. Burke has a long history in journalism. In addition to his reporting on the Manti Te’o hoax, Burke was also behind the widely circulated 2018 video compilation showing dozens of Sinclair Broadcasting Group anchors reciting the same script. But even putting aside Burke’s background, the letter explains that “Courts have rightly warned against limiting the First Amendment’s press clause to established media outlets — a warning that is especially important as technological advances give rise to new forms of journalism while traditional news outlets close their doors at alarming rates.” The organizations behind the letter raise concern — and demand answers — regarding whether the government’s apparent belief that Burke was not a journalist led it to eschew procedures for searches of journalists’ newsgathering materials required under the federal Privacy Protection Act of 1980 and the DOJ’s own policies. Those policies were revised last year to better protect journalists’ rights in light of Trump-era abuses. “The public relies on a fair and free press as protected by the First Amendment. Law enforcement policies and laws must support journalists’ rights to investigate and report on important matters of public interest, such as corruption, misconduct, and abuse of power, without fear of retaliation or censorship,” .