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Maria Bartiromo, the conservative TV host known for her staunch support of Donald Trump, is out at Fox News. Generally speaking, we at the Slatest try to avoid getting wrapped up in palace intrigue, especially media palace intrigue. But this particular ouster offers an important window into how things really work at Fox—as well as into the broader conservative media ecosystem in which the network is the apex predator.

What exactly did Bartiromo do?

Details are still trickling out, but here’s what we know. On Thursday, Fox announced that Bartiromo was “no longer with” the network, effective immediately. It didn’t give a reason, but reporters quickly put the pieces together. The drama seems to have started in July, when a Fox executive told the network’s on-air personalities to shy away from talking about a major Trump speech about election security. In that primetime address, the president floated conspiratorial insinuations about other countries interfering in the 2020 election, which he claims was stolen from him. Bartiromo, who has covered Trump’s election lies before, apparently forwarded the Fox executive’s guidance to the White House—“as if to say it wasn’t her fault that the claims weren’t getting airtime,” CNN reports—and Fox reportedly labeled Bartiromo’s disclosure a violation of her employment agreement.

What has Bartiromo said about this? 

She’s contesting the emerging narrative—and maybe her apparent ouster, too. “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,” Bartiromo’s lawyer said today. “Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out, whether through the courthouse or otherwise.”

Spicy! But assuming the reporting is right, is Bartiromo really the first Fox employee to get too close to the White House?

No. During his first term, the president reportedly consulted the network’s on-air personalities for advice, sometimes even putting........

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