Bartiromo Lawyer: She Wasn't Fired From Fox

Maria Bartiromo's surprise exit from Fox is now being recast as something else entirely by her lawyer. Attorney Bryan Freedman insisted on Friday that Bartiromo was neither terminated nor stripped of employee status, calling reports that she was fired "absolutely and unequivocally false" and promising to produce "receipts ... through the courthouse or otherwise," reports NBC News. Fox on Thursday said only that it had parted ways with the longtime anchor, then quickly scrubbed her bio and show pages from its sites while keeping her program titles on air minus her name.

Industry outlets have reported that Bartiromo was ousted after sharing internal Fox guidance with the White House about claims made by President Trump on elections, reports that NBC News hasn't independently confirmed. Fox said that its brief statement on Bartiromo "speaks for itself." Sources tell the New York Times that Bartiromo still has "considerable time" left on her contract, meaning she will still be paid even though she's not on the air anymore. The Times notes that contract may also mean she can't appear on other networks until the contract expires.

One big name who has also weighed in on Bartiromo's departure: Trump himself, reports the Hill. "I can't believe Maria Bartiromo is no longer going to have her great show(s) on FoxNews/Business," the president wrote on Truth Social on Thursday night. "Maria is a total professional, and a true warrior. Her fans, of which there are many, will not be happy."