REPORT: Fox News Fired Maria Bartiromo For Pursuing Story On China And The 2020 Election

Fox News fired longtime business anchor Maria Bartiromo for pursuing a story on China and claims of meddling in the 2020 presidential election, according to a report Thursday.

Read more Supreme Court Sets Date For Massive Showdown Over Semi-Auto Gun Bans

Fox abruptly announced Thursday that it had parted ways with Bartiromo after she spent 13 years at the network.

Dylan Byers of Puck News reported Thursday evening that Bartiromo wanted to air a story about China and claims of election meddling in 2020. However, a Fox Business executive texted producers, squashing the story. Bartiromo then screenshotted that text and sent it to senior White House officials, according to Byers.(RELATED: Fox News Abruptly Announces Departure Of Maria Bartiromo)

Fox executives reportedly learned of the leaked text after the White House called them. Fox believed it was a fireable offense and took Bartiromo off the air Aug. 9, according to Byers. She was fired shortly after her final appearance, but Fox announced the news weeks later, he reported.

Bartiromo has reportedly hired entertainment lawyer Bryan Freedman, who has represented numerous high-profile clients, including Megyn Kelly after she was fired by NBC News in 2018.

Bartiromo’s executive producer, Patrick Ignozzi, was fired after the network’s announcement Thursday, according to Byers.

Read more Fox News Abruptly Announces Departure Of Maria Bartiromo

Byers noted that claims and stories surrounding election integrity were a “major sensitivity for the network given its Dominion and Smartmatic lawsuits.”

In 2023, Fox Corporation agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million in a settlement over stolen election claims. Smartmatic USA Corporation filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox in February 2021 over stolen election claims, initially seeking $2.7 billion in damages. The case remains ongoing, with no trial date set.

Fox told the Daily Caller in 2024 that “Smartmatic was forced to cut its damage claims from $1.7 billion to $370 million” after Smartmatic settled with Newsmax. (RELATED: Smartmatic Settles Lawsuit With Newsmax Over 2020 Election Defamation Case)

“Smartmatic unsurprisingly chose to settle its case with Newsmax on the eve of trial after a series of major setbacks devastated its case. Those setbacks included: the fact that Smartmatic’s President and Co-Founder, as well as one current and one former executive, were federally indicted for bribery in obtaining key businesses in the Philippines,” Fox said at the time.

“Smartmatic’s claims against Fox are similarly impaired, unsupported by the facts and intended to chill First Amendment freedoms,” they added. “We look forward to defending this case when it goes to trial.”

Read more Colleges Are At Risk Of Closing. Good.