The Maria Bartiromo Fox News departure has turned into a public dispute, with Bartiromo’s legal team flatly rejecting Fox News Media’s account of how her time at the network ended and threatening to pursue the matter through the courts.
Fox News Media and Fox Business are cable television networks that together form the broadcast arm of Fox Corp. Bartiromo had hosted multiple programmes across both, building one of the most prominent profiles in US financial and political television.
What Fox said, and what Bartiromo’s lawyer says
On Thursday, Fox News Media announced that Bartiromo had parted ways with its networks. ‘We thank Maria for her work over the last 12½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter,’ the network said, offering no reason for her departure.
Various media organisations have since reported that Bartiromo was fired for violating company policy. By Friday, her attorney had issued a firm rebuttal. ‘The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false,’ the statement read. ‘Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise. Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth.’
Fox News, responding to those comments, said its brief statement from a day earlier ‘speaks for itself.’
The policy-violation allegation at the heart of the Maria Bartiromo Fox News row
Reporting by Status News, cited by The Guardian, points to a specific alleged breach: that Bartiromo shared Fox management guidance about Donald Trump’s election claims with the White House, which would constitute a violation of company policy. Bartiromo’s legal team has not addressed that specific allegation directly in its public statements.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bartiromo had not appeared on any Fox News Media programmes since 9 August, suggesting her on-screen absence preceded Thursday’s formal announcement by several weeks.
A career built across two networks
Before joining Fox, Bartiromo had a 21-year career at CNBC, where she hosted ‘Closing Bell’, according to NBC News. At Fox, she fronted ‘Mornings with Maria’ and ‘Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street’ on Fox Business Network, and also presented ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ on Fox News. Fox News is the top-rated cable television news channel in the United States.
Her departure comes after years in which she was a central figure in some of the most legally fraught moments in Fox’s recent history.
Two defamation cases and a $787.5 million settlement
Bartiromo was among the Fox News anchors named in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case. Dominion accused Fox of making false on-air allegations that its voting equipment had helped rig the 2020 US presidential election. Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle that lawsuit in 2023, without any finding of liability.
The legal exposure does not end there. The Los Angeles Times reports that Bartiromo is also named in a $2.7-billion defamation suit filed by voting equipment company Smartmatic USA, a case that remains ongoing. Fox faces that suit separately, with Bartiromo listed as a defendant.
The dispute over how and why she left the network means the circumstances of her Maria Bartiromo Fox News departure may ultimately be tested in court, as her attorney’s statement makes clear. Whether proceedings are filed will become apparent in the weeks ahead.
