Did Maria Bartiromo just step on a mine?

Possibly:

Turns out she and [John] Thain both pay public relations guru Ken Sunshine to represent them, and he apparently helped set up the exclusive. "It's a huge conflict of interest. It's incredible she didn't disclose this over the air, but she thinks she's above it all," one broadcast insider told Page Six. "And she was really kissing Thain's ass during the interview." Sunshine admitted to us he represents both Bartiromo and Thain, the latter having hired him just recently. "The relationship between John and Maria long precedes our relationship with him," Sunshine insisted. But he had no comment on whether he had a hand in lining up the interview. CNBC didn't get back to us.

Link to photo, by Martin Scholler, here.