Mark Tolson, 60, pleaded guilty in a federal court to one misdemeanor count of accessing without authorization the email account of lobbyist Jack Burkman

A former FBI analyst admitted to copying private emails of a conservative conspiracy theorist and sharing them with his superiors while his wife offered them to the press.

Mark Tolson, 60, pleaded guilty in an Alexandria, Virginia, federal court to one misdemeanor count of accessing without authorization the email account of lobbyist Jack Burkman.

Burkman is identified by initials 'JB' in court documents, the Washington Post reports. He has grown in prominence for a string of conspiracy theories he's looked into with the help of Jacob Wohl, who was recently charged with a felony in California.

Sarah Gilbert Fox, the defendant's wife, worked for the lobbyist from October 2017 to early summer 2018 and had access to his emails.

Burkman grew in prominence for a string of conspiracy theories he's looked into with the help of Jacob Wohl, particularly allegations of sexual assault against special counsel Robert S Mueller III

Tolson learned in October that Burkman was planning a press conference where he would claim that special counsel Robert S Mueller III committed sexual assault.

Mueller had the FBI review claims that the woman was offered money to fabricate the accusation after she was a no show.

Burkman vehemently denies having offered the woman money for her testimony.

Prosecutors say that Tolson and his wife spent 15 to 20 minutes reviewing and photographing 'emails of interest' that were on Burkman's account.

When the pair tried logging into the account a second time, they were denied entry.

Sarah Gilbert Fox, the defendant's wife, worked for the lobbyist from October 2017 to early summer 2018 and had access to his emails

Fox and Tolson then contacted a reporter to share the information, offering Burkman's password in the process. The reporter denied to accept the password.

On November 1, 2018, Tolson emailed an FBI official and requested a meeting to discuss an 'urgent' matter. Meeting later that day, Tolson handed the official an envelope with the emails and stated that they might be 'illegal.'

Tolson left the FBI and agreed to forfeit two phones and two computers to avoid contact with Burkman.

He was sentenced to seven days in jail and a $500 fine on Friday, according to Politico.

At sentencing, Tolson declared that he acted out of a desire 'to protect Director Mueller' from the false allegations.

'It was because of the press conference, your honor,' he said.

'This is actually a very serious offense,' U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema said. 'You're lucky. Your wife is lucky. The government could have prosecuted her as well.'