Bloomberg News has reportedly fired at least one reporter and disciplined others for “prematurely” reporting on the historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States last week, which it says could have jeopardized the safety of the Americans who were released.

In an email to staff on Monday, editor-in-chief John Micklethwait wrote that some staff members were subject to disciplinary action. At least one reporter has reportedly been fired, a rare case of punishment for an editor who decided to publish a major story that would likely have been vetted earlier by media officials.

“Last Thursday, we prematurely published a story about the release of Evan Gershkowitz and other detainees that could have jeopardized the exchange,” Micklethwait, the Bloomberg News editor, wrote in a letter to staff. according to the Guardian. “Even if nothing happened, it was a clear violation of the editorial standards that have made this medium so trusted around the world.”

The news agency reported that its reporter Wall Street Journal Gershovitch and several other US citizens were freed as part of the largest prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington since the Cold War at 7.41am. ET, while a plane from Moscow carrying them was still en route to Ankara for the exchange. Soon after, a Bloomberg editor wrote to X: “It is one of the greatest honors of my career to help break this news. I love my job and my colleagues.”

The publication drew outrage from other media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, which kept the story under embargo until the exchange was completed and the detainees were safely out of Russian territory.

In a rare case, the media seems to have proceeded to fire a journalist. Jennifer Jacobs, Bloomberg News’ White House correspondent, is no longer on the editorial team, according to reports New York Magazine and the Washington Post.

For her part, in a statement posted to X , Jacobs said she did not knowingly break any embargoes regarding Gershkowitz’s release and added that she had worked closely with publishers on the story.

“As a journalist, the idea that I would endanger the safety of a fellow reporter upsets me deeply and is hard to describe,” Jacobs wrote. “I’m so glad Evan Gershkowitz and the others are home.”

“In reporting the story of Evan’s release, I worked closely with my editors to adhere to editorial standards and guidelines,” she wrote. “I have never done anything that I know of that is inconsistent with the administration’s embargo or that would endanger anyone involved.”

A Bloomberg News spokesman declined to comment on the investigation, including which senior editors were involved in breaking the story and whether any had been fired.

“Journalists don’t have the final say on when a story is published or under what headline,” Jacobs wrote. “The chain of events here could happen to any reporter tasked with breaking the news. This is why there are checks on editorial procedures as well.”