Maria Bartiromo’s final weeks at Fox Business were marked by a deepening freeze inside the network, with staffers reportedly instructed not to communicate with the longtime anchor before her sudden dismissal.
Bartiromo, 58, was abruptly dropped by Fox News on Thursday, as the company confirmed in a terse statement that it had “parted ways” with the veteran broadcaster.
According to Status News, the breaking point came amid allegations that Bartiromo shared a confidential internal memo with President Donald Trump concerning Fox News’ move to scale back coverage of his claims that the 2020 election had been stolen.
However, sources told Mediaite that the alleged leak was “not the only reason” behind her ouster. Inside Fox News, they said, the decision did not come as a shock, with members of Bartiromo’s team reportedly “freaking out” for weeks over the fate of her programs.
Network insiders described a deteriorating relationship between Bartiromo and Fox leadership, pointing to a “confluence of factors” that included mounting editorial disputes about the direction and tone of her shows.
Those tensions reportedly included fallout from her connection to Fox’s $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 over the network’s promotion of Trump’s election fraud claims, as well as several on-air interviews this year that executives viewed as mishandled.
As the rift with Fox executives widened, Bartiromo’s staff was allegedly prohibited from speaking with her. At the same time, sources said, she retreated to the Hamptons and was “nowhere to be found.”
Her absence became so pronounced, according to the report, that one source likened it to her being “undercover,” leaving her future unresolved for weeks before Fox ultimately ended her tenure this week.
Ousted Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo was completely iced out at the network as her staff were barred from talking to her in the weeks before her firing, reports say
Reports claimed Bartiromo had shared a confidential internal memo with President Donald Trump about Fox News’ decision to limit coverage of his claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. She is pictured above with husband Jonathan Steinberg, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump
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.
At the time she sent the White House the guidance, Bartiromo was also reportedly seeking to pursue a new story related to China and the 2020 election and Trump’s claims of Chinese interference, according to Puck.
Amid the breakdown of Bartiromo’s relationship with Fox executives, her staff were then ordered not to even attempt to speak with her.
‘In order to talk to her, you had to go to management,’ the source said, adding that her staff had known for weeks that ‘something was up.’
‘People were freaking out,’ the source said.
As Bartiromo was booted from the network, her longtime producer Patrick Ignozzi was also ousted
Amid reports that she leaked classified internal information to the Trump administration, the president quickly defended her on Thursday in a Truth Social post
As Bartiromo was booted from the network, her longtime producer Patrick Ignozzi was also ousted, Puck News reported.
Amid reports that she leaked classified internal information to the Trump administration, the president quickly defended her on Thursday in a Truth Social post.
‘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 was since reportedly 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.
She was quickly removed from Fox News’ website, with her bio page and show content erased from online.
Her shows, Mornings With Maria and Sunday Morning Futures, are now set to be hosted by a rotating cast of anchors and Fox personalities in the coming weeks.
