Longtime Fox News host Maria Bartiromo’s abrupt departure from the network Thursday was not a firing, her attorney said, dismissing reports that her exit was punishment for disclosing an internal memo to the Trump administration.
“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 attorney, Bryan Freedman, said in a Friday statement. “Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise.”
On Thursday, Fox News Media issued a brief note that Ms. Bartiromo is no longer with the network, stating, “We thank Maria for her work over the last 12½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter.”
Fox gave no explanation for her departure.
Her attorney’s statement comes after allegations that Fox abruptly cut ties with the anchor after reports emerged that she leaked confidential company information to President Trump’s team.
In July, after the president used a primetime address to link China to statements about the 2020 election, Fox managers sent guidance telling staff not to lend credibility to those assertions to avoid ongoing legal liabilities.
Ms. Bartiromo took a screenshot of that guidance and sent it to senior White House officials, according to multiple reports. Fox executives learned of it after receiving a call from the White House, which the network reportedly viewed as a fireable offense.
“Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth,” Mr. Freedman said Friday.
The president issued a late-night Truth Social comment on the matter, saying he “can’t believe Maria Bartiromo is no longer going to have her great show(s) on FoxNews/Business,” referring to “Mornings With Maria,” “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street” and “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“Maria is a total professional, and a true warrior. Her fans, of which there are many, will not be happy,” he said. “God bless you, Maria!”
Though the leak may have been the immediate trigger, Ms. Bartiromo had already been involved in legal liabilities for the network.
She was named in a Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit, which cost Fox $787.5 million to settle in 2023 after being accused of making on-air allegations that Dominion committed election fraud when Mr. Trump lost to Joseph R. Biden in 2020.
At the time of her firing, she remained a key defendant in a multi-billion-dollar defamation lawsuit filed by Smartmatic USA.
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