Maria Bartiromo leaves Fox News amid ongoing defamation lawsuits

Fox News Media confirmed on Thursday that veteran anchor Maria Bartiromo has been terminated, effective immediately. The network said she had not appeared on any of its programs since Aug. 9 and offered no further explanation for the decision.

"We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 ½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter," a Fox News spokesperson said.

Bartiromo, who earned roughly $6 million a year, hosted the daily Fox Business show "Mornings with Maria" and the weekend program "Sunday Morning Futures." The former will be retitled "Mornings with Fox Business" starting Friday, while the latter will continue with substitute hosts until a permanent replacement is found.

Her departure follows a series of legal challenges for the network. Statements made on her shows contributed to a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over false voter-fraud claims related to the 2020 election. Bartiromo is also named in a $2.7 billion defamation suit filed by Smartmatic, which alleges the network’s coverage harmed its U.S. business prospects.

In May, entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary made unsubstantiated accusations on Bartiromo’s program about a Utah data-center opposition group being funded by the Chinese government. After retracting the claim, O’Leary and Fox News faced a defamation lawsuit from the group and its affiliates. Fox News said it corrected the record on all affected broadcasts and will defend the suit vigorously.

Sources said the ongoing litigation and related controversies likely influenced the network’s decision, though they denied any connection to potential White House employment discussions for Bartiromo.