Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon exchanged written messages in the days after the 2020 election in which they conspired to discredit President-elect Joe Biden. Bannon also suggested Bartiromo should consider running for Senate in New York against Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer.  

The new revelations are from a recent court filing in Dominion Voting Systems’ ongoing defamation lawsuit against Fox News. The suit has already shown that Fox on-air talent and executives — including Rupert Murdoch — knew Trump’s lawyers’ election fraud claims were false but spread them regardless. 

The conversation, which took place on November 10, 2020, began with Bartiromo messaging Bannon, “Omg I’m so depressed. I can’t take this,”  before asking him to appear on her show two days later. Bannon agreed to come on, and reassured her, replying, “We’ve got this.”

“I am watching the world move forward. & it’s so upsetting steve,” Bartiromo responded. 

“I want to see massive fraud exposed” she continued. “Will he be able to turn this around. I told my team we are not allowed to say pres elect at sll.”

“Not in scripts or in banners on air. Until this moves through the courts,” she added.

Bannon then responded that “71 million voters will never accept Biden.”

“This process is to destroy his presidency before it starts ; IF it even starts,” Bannon texted.

“But I’m scared & sad,” Bartiromo replied.

“You are our fighter,” Bannon reassured her. “Enough with the sad ! We need u.” 

“We want you to run against Schumer,” he continued. “This is your moment.”

Bannon then texted Bartiromo what he called “THE PLAN.”

Bannon had already appeared on Bartiromo’s program just days before the text exchange. On November 3, 2020, Bannon appeared and falsely accused Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro of engaging in “the most major voter suppression we've seen.” 

Then on November 5, 2020, Bannon appeared on her show again and engaged in full-throated election denialism. “President Trump won an overwhelming victory on Tuesday night, with certifiable, verifiable legal votes,” Bannon said. “The fact is the president was reelected.”

“President Trump won an overwhelming victory,” he continued. “He should start acting right now in his second term.” 

Bannon has a history of floating conservative figures for elected positions and for appointments that he doesn’t control. Prior to the 2020 election, he called on Attorney General William Barr to appoint Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as a special counsel to investigate the Biden family. He also suggested that Trump coup plotter Jeffrey Clark serve as Trump’s next attorney general in a hypothetical second term, and right-wing media personality and former Pentagon official Kash Patel should be appointed to lead either the Defense or State department. In 2021, he floated Trump for speaker of the House.

Bannon’s recent record of choosing candidates — who actually ran for office — is dismal. Thirty-four of the 59 candidates he hosted on his show in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections lost their races.

Bartiromo was among Fox News’ most prolific and irresponsible spreaders of election fraud conspiracy theories.