Fox News Parts Ways With Maria Bartiromo; Attorney Disputes Firing Claims

Fox News Media announced Thursday that Maria Bartiromo parted ways with its networks after 12 and a half years.

Bartiromo's attorney, Bryan Freedman, states that reports of her firing are absolutely and unequivocally false. Freedman maintains Bartiromo remains an employee of the network and is still under contract, potentially until 2028. Fox News responded to Freedman's comments by stating its earlier brief announcement speaks for itself. Subsequent reporting indicates Bartiromo's departure stemmed from her sharing internal editorial guidance with Peter Navarro, a senior counselor to President Trump.

On July 15, Ralph Giordano, senior vice president of programming for Fox Business Network, sent a text message to Bartiromo's producers, including executive producer Patrick Ignozzi, advising against covering a July 16 Trump speech on election integrity. Navarro told Puck that Bartiromo sent him a screenshot of this edict, which he then sent up the chain to a high-ranking Trump official.

Navarro claimed Fox was censoring the story. Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace were reportedly angry with Bartiromo. Bartiromo had planned to cover Trump's speech and intended to book Navarro to discuss the president's remarks. She renewed her contract with Fox News Media in February of last year, asking for provisions to ensure Giordano had no influence over her show.

Bartiromo hosted "Mornings with Maria" and "Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street" on Fox Business Network, and "Sunday Morning Futures" on Fox News. She was named in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case, which Fox settled for $787.5 million in 2023. Fox faces a similar ongoing defamation lawsuit with Smartmatic USA, in which Bartiromo is also a defendant. President Trump stated on Truth Social that Bartiromo's fans will not be happy about her departure.