Maria Bartiromo’s attorney is pushing back forcefully against claims surrounding the longtime TV anchor’s status at Fox News, insisting reports that she was fired are false and warning that he has “receipts and witnesses” to support his position.
In an exclusive statement to Our News Outlet, high-profile lawyer Bryan Freedman sharply criticized what he called “irresponsible” coverage suggesting Bartiromo had been dismissed or was no longer employed by Fox, describing those accounts as “absolutely and unequivocally false.”
The dispute follows a Thursday announcement from Fox News Media stating that Bartiromo was “no longer with” the network after more than 12 years, with the change taking effect immediately.
Freedman is now challenging the framing of Bartiromo’s departure, signaling that the matter could escalate into a broader legal fight if the claims about her exit continue to circulate.
“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,” Freedman told Our News Outlet on Friday.
“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,” he added.
Fox News Media, the channel’s parent company, disclosed the development in a press release issued Thursday morning.
Maria Bartiromo, dramatically exited Fox News after almost 13 years at the popular cable network, Thursday
Maria Bartiromo is pictured with Donald Trump in 2024. The Fox News host exited the network on Thursday
‘We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 ½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter,’ a spokesperson said in the press release.
The release further noted how Bartiromo’s Fox Business show will now be hosted by a rotating cast of anchors. The show itself is being renamed Mornings With Fox Business.
Her other Fox Business show, Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street, will have her name stripped from it as well, the company said.
According to Status News, the final straw was allegations Bartiromo leaked to President Trump that ‘Fox issued guidance to senior employees instructing them to steer clear of giving credence to Trump’s delusional claims’ about the 2020 election being stolen from him.
But sources told Mediaite that the alleged leak was ‘not the only reason’ she was fired, and her exit was not a surprise within the Fox ranks as her staff had been ‘freaking out’ about the future of her shows for weeks.
Insiders told the outlet that Bartiromo’s relationship with Fox executives had broken down over a ‘confluence of factors’, including several editorial disagreements over the direction of her shows.
This reportedly included her role in Fox’s $787 million settlement to Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 over its peddling of Trump’s election claims, and several botched interviews on the air this year.
As Bartiromo’s relationship with Fox bosses reportedly fell apart, sources said her staff were barred from even speaking with her, while she laid low in the Hamptons and was ‘nowhere to be found.’
Earlier reports claim Bartiromo was completely iced out at the network as her staff were barred from talking to her in the weeks before her firing
Amid reports that she leaked classified internal information to the Trump administration, the president quickly defended her on Thursday in a Truth Social post
Sources said that while Bartiromo’s alleged leak to Trump may have been the final straw, she had been clashing with executives for some time.
Alongside her role in peddling Trump’s 2020 election fraud claims that led to the huge settlement with Dominion, another similar lawsuit from Smartmatic that is ‘still hanging out there’ had also been hurting her status at the network.
Court documents from a 2021 defamation lawsuit against Fox revealed she took in an eyewatering $70 million since joining Fox from CNBC in 2014.
She joined the latter in 1993 after being hired by then-CNBC President and future Fox exec Roger Ailes.
Ailes resigned from Fox in 2016, after former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson accused him of sexual harassment.
Bartiromo became a regular target of criticism around that time, due to her kind coverage of Donald Trump.
Such coverage was vital to the defamation claims made by Dominion Voting Systems, in a different lawsuit that Fox News ended up settling for $787.5 million.
Amid reports that she leaked classified internal information to the Trump administration, the president quickly defended her on Thursday in a Truth Social post.
Bartiromo’s attorney Bryan Freedman on Friday disputed the way the Fox news host’s departure has been characterized
‘I can’t believe Maria Bartiromo is no longer going to have her great shows on Fox News/ Business,’ Trump wrote.
‘Three different shows, always number one. Maria is a total professional, and a true warrior.
‘Her fans, of which there are many, will not be happy. God bless you, Maria!’
Bartiromo has since hired attorney Bryan Freedman to guide her through her termination, after the high-powered lawyer previously represented other major ousted news personalities including Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon.
