Peter Navarro, a senior adviser to Donald Trump, confirmed Friday that Maria Bartiromo sent him internal Fox Business Network guidance about coverage of the president’s 2020 election claims, providing on-the-record support for a key detail in reports surrounding her abrupt departure from Fox News Media.
Navarro, Trump’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing and a longtime adviser to the president, told Puck that Bartiromo texted him a screenshot of the guidance after he had been scheduled to appear on “Mornings With Maria” to discuss voter fraud.
According to Puck, Ralph Giordano, Fox Business senior vice president of programming, sent the guidance to Bartiromo’s producers ahead of Trump’s July 16 primetime speech about election integrity. The guidance directed the show not to pursue coverage of Trump’s claims involving China and the 2020 election.
Navarro told the outlet that Bartiromo sent him the screenshot and indicated that Fox executives did not want her discussing the subject on air. Puck reported that Navarro had been booked on the show to discuss voter fraud before the segment was scrapped.
Puck highlighted that Bartiromo may argue that she was simply alerting Navarro, a scheduled guest, to a change in the show’s lineup rather than improperly sharing confidential information.
Representatives for the White House, Bartiromo and Fox News did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Navarro’s confirmation added a named source to the still-disputed account surrounding Bartiromo’s exit. TheWrap reported Thursday that multiple reports, citing sources familiar with the matter, said Bartiromo shared internal Fox guidance outside the company. Those reports linked the disclosure to her departure, though Fox has not publicly said why it parted ways with Bartiromo.
Fox News Media announced Thursday that Bartiromo was “no longer with FOX News Media,” effective immediately, ending her more than 12-year run at the company. Fox did not provide a specific reason for the decision and subsequently told TheWrap that her departure was a “business decision.”
Bartiromo’s attorney Bryan Freedman pushed back Friday on reports surrounding her exit, telling TheWrap that claims she was fired or was no longer a Fox employee were “absolutely and unequivocally false.”
“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,” Freedman said. “Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise.”
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