Maria Bartiromo's source for election conspiracy theories: “The Wind tells me I’m a ghost, but I don’t believe it."

Bartiromo’s source: “Who am I? And how do I know all of this?...I’ve had the strangest dreams since I was a little girl....I was internally decapitated, and yet, I live…”

Written by Courtney Hagle & Madeline Peltz

Published

A recent filing in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox News reveals that after the 2020 presidential election, former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell sent Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo “far-fetched claims” based on “an email entitled ‘Election Fraud Info’ Powell had received from a 'source' which the author herself describes as ‘pretty wackadoodle.’” Yet Bartiromo “gave them credibility” on her show. 

The filing, totaling 192 pages, shows the extent to which the network knew it was pushing false claims to its viewers in the aftermath of the 2020 election by suggesting that Dominion’s machines were involved in voter fraud. The lawyers for Dominion lay out a seemingly endless list of evidence showing “literally dozens of people with editorial responsibility” — from producers to on-air personalities to executives to Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch himself — acted with, in Dominion’s view, “actual malice," which is the legal standard for defamation.

One particularly eye-popping anecdote involves Bartiromo, who repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories and lies about the election and Dominion voting machines. The filing includes evidence that Bartiromo ran a segment based on information Powell had received from a single source, who claimed, “I was internally decapitated, and yet, I live….The Wind tells me I’m a ghost, but I don’t believe it.” From page 25 (citations removed):

What was the evidence for these far-fetched claims that Powell sent to Bartiromo the day before the broadcast? An email entitled “Election Fraud Info” Powell had received from a “source” which the author herself describes as “pretty wackadoodle.” This email—also received by [former Fox host Lou] Dobbs—alleged Dominion was the “one common thread” in the “voting irregularities in a number of states.” In addition to promoting lies about Dominion, the sender claimed that Justice Scalia “was purposefully killed at the annual Bohemian Grove camp…during a weeklong human hunting expedition,” and that former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes (who died in 2017) and Rupert Murdoch “secretly huddle most days to determine how best to portray Mr. Trump as badly as possible.” The author continued: “Who am I? And how do I know all of this?…I’ve had the strangest dreams since I was a little girl….I was internally decapitated, and yet, I live….The Wind tells me I’m a ghost, but I don’t believe it.” The full force of the email’s lunacy comes across by reading it in its entirety. 

In the same email, the sender insisted that the late Roger Ailes, Rupert Murdoch, and the late Justice Anthony Scalia meet daily to take down Trump. Powell’s source claimed that they have this information from experiencing something “like time-travel in a semi-conscious state.”

Pg 118 of Dominion filing

The filing is the latest development in the yearslong battle over Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News, originally filed in March 2021. It is by far the biggest disclosure of evidence from Dominion’s side so far in the case. Depositions of various Fox News stars began around August 2022. 

Some of Fox News’ biggest names repeated the lies about Dominion or otherwise smeared the company, including Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, and Lou Dobbs. Trump’s lawyers Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, and Sidney Powell also appeared on the network to spread falsehoods about Dominion. Fox continued to push the lies even after the decision-makers at the network knew the information was false.

Among the myriad false accusations were claims that Dominion machines altered vote counts, that the company gave “kickbacks” to elected officials, and that the voting machines were owned or controlled by foreign governments.