Maria Bartiromo 'Wanted to Pursue a Story Related to China and 2020 Election Voting Conspiracies' Before Being Ousted From Fox News, Claims Source

Fox News abruptly ousted longtime anchor Maria Bartiromo on Thursday, September 3, after she allegedly attempted to push an unverified story involving China and 2020 election conspiracy theories, a topic of severe legal sensitivity for the network.

According to reporting by Puck's Dylan Byers, a Fox Business executive blocked the story from airing. Instead of dropping the matter, Bartiromo reportedly took a screenshot of the executive's editorial guidance and shared it with senior White House officials.

“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,” Byers wrote on X.

The network blocked the segment due to intense legal vulnerabilities stemming from its coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

“A Fox Business executive sent a text to Fox Business producers informing them that the story could not go to air,” Byers explained. “Bartiromo took a screenshot of the guidance and sent it to senior White House officials.”

Fox News previously settled a massive defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million and remains entangled in a $2.7 billion lawsuit with Smartmatic. Bartiromo was a central figure in the broadcasts that triggered these suits.

“Maria Bartiromo was the face of the Dominion scandal,” said Morning Joe co-anchor Willie Geist. “She cost Fox a lot of money and ultimately cost her her job.”

Network leadership had repeatedly warned anchors to avoid repeating unsubstantiated fraud claims that could expose Fox to further liability or libel charges.

Following the internal breach, Fox News parted ways with Bartiromo immediately on Thursday, completely scrubbing her presence from their digital platforms. Visitors attempting to view her official profile page were met with a "Server error. Person not found" message.

“Effective today, Maria Bartiromo is no longer with FOX News Media. We thank Maria for her work over the last 12½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter,” Fox said in a statement.

In a July primetime address from the White House, President Donald Trump alleged that the Chinese government carried out a massive operation to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election to benefit Joe Biden, while claiming that U.S. intelligence agencies covered it up.

Independent fact-checkers, cybersecurity experts and U.S. intelligence assessments have widely debunked these claims, noting the newly declassified documents Trump released do not support his narrative.

Trump baselessly claimed that China executed "the largest compromise of election data in history" by buying, stealing, or hacking 220 million U.S. voter files across 18 states.

Declassified U.S. intelligence reports confirm that while foreign actors — including China — sought to influence public opinion, there is absolutely no evidence that China altered voter rolls, changed votes, fabricated ballots or manipulated the vote count.

Bartiromo hired Bryan Freedman in the wake of the news, with the attorney claiming that reports stating she was fired "are absolutely and unequivocally false."

"Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise," he added.