The Department of Justice is retreating from its appeal of a ruling that tossed seven felony wiretapping counts against Florida journalist Tim Burke.
In an unopposed motion filed Wednesday with the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, DOJ prosecutors asked the court to dismiss the government's appeal, according to court records. Burke's attorney did not oppose the request.
Burke was indicted in 2024 after he uncovered unaired outtakes of antisemitic remarks made by the musician Kanye West — who at the time was using the name Ye — during a Fox News interview, according to the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Federal agents raided Burke's newsroom and seized dozens of pieces of equipment, much of which remains in FBI custody, the press freedom group noted. Burke was charged under both the Wiretap Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
A federal trial court dismissed the Wiretap Act counts in September 2025 after finding that the government's reading of the statute was too broad, the organization said. Wednesday's motion drops the government's effort to revive those counts on appeal, though prosecutors are continuing to pursue the remaining charges against Burke.
"By confiscating most of Tim Burke's newsroom equipment for years and getting multiple extensions in court before ultimately dropping its appeal, the DOJ has successfully held Burke's journalism hostage and used the legal system to punish him for reporting on a clearly newsworthy issue," Seth Stern, the foundation's chief of advocacy, said in a statement.
"Prosecutors were right to drop their appeal of the Wiretap Act counts," Stern added. "But they're wrong to continue to pursue other charges to punish a journalist who exposed antisemitism."
Stern reserved his sharpest criticism for the government's use of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, calling it "a vague, ambiguous law that would criminalize routine journalism if the government had its way." Stern said the DOJ "should not stop with dismissing this appeal" and must drop all charges against Burke.
