Cable news was shaken by a major development when it emerged that Maria Bartiromo was leaving Fox News Media. Bartiromo's attorney, Bryan Freedman, denied reports that the longtime Fox Business host had been fired, calling the reports "irresponsible." According to Daily Beast reporter Josh Fiallo, Freedman is now "threatening a legal showdown."

Bartiromo, who rose to prominence at CNBC covering Wall Street before joining Fox in 2014, has long been one of the most recognizable figures in financial television. Writing in the Daily Beast, Fiallo explained: "Bryan Freedman said reports that the longtime host was fired by the network are untrue and irresponsible. Fox said, in a statement of its own on Thursday, that 'Maria Bartiromo is no longer with Fox News Media.' Freedman claims he has the receipts to prove Bartiromo, who worked at the network for 12 years, was not abruptly fired — though he declined to provide the supposed proof in an explosive statement sent to the Daily Beast."

In a statement reported by the Daily Mail, Freedman said: "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. Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses, and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise … Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth."

Freedman is denying reports alleging that Bartiromo was fired from Fox News Media for sharing inside information with President Donald Trump.

"Maria Bartiromo is widely regarded as one of President Donald Trump's favorite hosts at Fox News," Fiallo noted in the Beast. "He even appointed her to the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The incident in question occurred in July after the president's crackpot primetime address in which he claimed that China interfered in the 2020 presidential election."

The reported allegation that Bartiromo informed the White House about internal Fox guidance on election-related claims touches a sensitive area for the network, which paid $787 million in 2023 to settle Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit over its coverage of 2020 election fraud claims — a case in which Bartiromo was among the hosts whose on-air segments were cited.

According to Fiallo: "Sources told Mediaite that the supposed leak was 'not the only reason' that Bartiromo got the ax, claiming that there was a 'confluence of factors,' like editorial disagreements over the direction of her shows."

Fiallo added that the site also reports that her exit did not surprise many at Fox, and that her staff has been "freaking out" about the future of her shows since August. In June, Bartiromo was forced to issue an embarrassing on-air apology after "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary pushed an unsubstantiated claim about China during her show.

Fiallo pointed out that the "ouster of Bartiromo, 58, came after she was mysteriously off the air for three weeks."

"Sources told Status that she was fired from the network because she had informed the White House about Fox's secret instructions not to promote President Donald Trump's election conspiracies on the air," Fiallo reported.

Trump was not pleased to hear about Bartiromo's departure.

On his Truth Social platform, the president posted: "I can't believe Maria Bartiromo is no longer going to have her great show(s) on Fox News/Business. Three different shows, always number one. Maria is a total professional, and a true warrior. Her fans, of which there are many, will not be happy. God bless you, Maria!"

How the dispute resolves — whether in court or through private settlement — could hinge on the evidence Freedman says he possesses but has not yet disclosed.

Sources: Variety, The Daily Beast