According to a source close to Lasswell, the relationship between Lasswell and Gigot broke down in June when Gigot blocked Lasswell from publishing op-eds critical of Trump’s business practices and which raised questions about his alleged ties to Mafia figures. Lasswell asked Gigot for a book leave for the remainder of the election. Gigot, who had been critical of Trump, took a “sudden turn” on the candidate, the source said…

When Lasswell reached out to Gigot after the election about coming back to the paper in the new year, the source said, there was a period of weeks of silence before Gigot fired him over the phone.

“To my understanding he wasn’t exactly on the Trump Train enough and that was a problem for the current leadership of the editorial board,” said one source with direct knowledge of the situation. Lasswell “seemed to have been pushing for the Journal to print and publish a certain perspective when it came to some of Trump’s less gracious thoughts and ideas and statements. And I don’t think that his exact perspective on this issue was met with great approval from the people above him.”