Maria Bartiromo, whose departure from Fox News was announced earlier today, was fired by the network after she indicated that she wished to pursue a story relating to alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 election, according to a report from Puck News.
According to Puck News reporter Dylan Byers, who cited multiple sources familiar with the matter, Byers reported that Bartiromo wanted to pursue a story related to claims about China and 2020 election voting. The subject was treated as a major sensitivity inside the company because of Fox’s prior litigation with Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic.
A Fox Business executive then sent a text to producers stating that the story could not air. According to Byers, Bartiromo took a screenshot of that guidance and sent it to senior White House officials.
Fox News leadership learned of the communication after receiving a call from the White House and viewed the disclosure as a fireable offense. Byers reported that the network pulled Bartiromo from the air after her last Fox News appearance on August 9, that she was fired on September 3, and that her executive producer, Patrick Ignozzi, was also dismissed after the public announcement.
He added that Bartiromo had resigned her contract with Fox the previous February and later retained attorney Bryan Freedman. Byers said further details would appear in Puck’s In the Room newsletter.
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NEW: The Maria Bartiromo backstory, per multiple sources familiar….
Maria Bartiromo wanted to pursue a story related to China and 2020 election voting conspiracies… a major sensitivity for the network given its Dominion and Smartmatic lawsuits.
A Fox Business executive sent…
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) September 3, 2026
According to a separate report from Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter, Fox issued internal guidance directing talent not to amplify President Donald Trump’s nationwide address on election interference in the 2020 election, which was delivered on July 16.
Status reported that Bartiromo shared that guidance, including an executive text, with the White House, and that the company regarded the disclosure of confidential internal communications as a violation of her employment agreement.
Fox News Media made the split official on Wednesday morning. In a statement, the company said that effective that day Bartiromo was no longer with Fox News Media, thanked her for 12 and a half years of work, and wished her well in her next chapter. No reason was given in the release.
Bartiromo’s last Fox Business appearances were on August 7, while her last Fox News appearance was Sunday Morning Futures on August 9. She did not return to the air after that. The final episode of Mornings with Maria aired the morning of September 3 with a substitute host and without an on-air farewell from Bartiromo.
Beginning September 4, the program was retitled Mornings with FOX Business and assigned rotating anchors. Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street became FBN’s Wall Street, with Cheryl Casone hosting the first rebranded episode and rotating anchors thereafter.
Jason Chaffetz hosted Sunday Morning Futures the following Sunday, with a permanent host to be named later. Fox Business said a new weekday schedule would be announced in coming weeks.
Additional sources told Byers that Bartiromo was not leaving for a White House job, despite earlier speculation after Karoline Leavitt stepped down as press secretary in August.
