CNN has fired anchor Chris Cuomo after earlier suspending him indefinitely due to revelations about the extent of his aid to his embattled brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The firing also came after the news outlet retained an outside law firm to look into what aid Chris Cuomo gave in his brother's handling of sexual harassment allegations that ultimately led him to step down, according to CNN.
CNN said that investigation uncovered additional information that it will continue to look into, Cuomo's firing notwithstanding. It did not say what it was.
Also: CNN's Chris Cuomo Apologizes for Helping Brother
“Chris Cuomo was suspended earlier this week pending further evaluation of new information that came to light about his involvement with his brother's defense,” CNN said Saturday (Dec. 4). “We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him, effective immediately.”
“This is not how I want my time at CNN to end but I have already told you why and how I helped my brother,” Cuomo said in a statement published on CNN's web site. “So let me now say as disappointing as this is, I could not be more proud of the team at Cuomo Prime Time and the work we did as CNN‘s No. 1 show in the most competitive time slot. I owe them all and will miss that group of special people who did really important work.”
Cuomo's suspension came after new documents and videos were released by New York Attorney General Letitia James from her investigation into the sexual harassment allegations, documents that showed Chris Cuomo tried to use the power of his journalism job to help is brother.
Cuomo‘s primetime show had been a bright spot for CNN in terms of ratings. Cuomo Prime Time, at 9 p.m., was the network‘s most-watched show in total viewers for the month of November, averaging 826,000. ■
