Embattled anchor Chris Cuomo has been ‘terminated’ by CNN ‘effective immediately,’ the network announced in a statement Saturday.
‘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,’ the network said in the statement.
We retained an established law firm to handle the review and have now terminated him. During the review additional information was discovered. We are going to examine the situation as soon as possible, even though we have been terminated.
CNN has reportedly ‘terminated’ embattled anchor Chris Cuomo effective immediately. The network made the announcement in a Saturday statement
Cuomo (51), acknowledged Saturday’s axing in a statement. He expressed regret for his role in the scandal, but claimed that he was helping his brother who had to resign in August.
The veteran TV journalist posted the following message to social media: “This is not how my time at CNN should end.”
“But, I already explained to you why I helped my brother.”
After stints with Fox News and ABC, Cuomo began his career at CNN in February 2013. Cuomo Prime Time was his first host after he rose up the ranks.
According to certain estimates, Cuomo makes $6million annually.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation found that Andrew Cuomo, 63, sexually harassed at least 11 women. To avoid an impeachment trial, he resigned in August as governor.
Chris Cuomo testified that the last time they spoke to their brother was in order to discuss the charges and to decide what to tell their mother, who is 90 years old.
Cuomo has insisted he has done nothing to try and influence CNN’s coverage of his brother’s political problems, and that it would be quickly found out if he did.
Throughout his testimony, Chris frequently invoked family when asked to explain his frequent contact — often combative — with Andrew’s aides as they tried to figure out a way to save the governor’s job.
‘This is my brother, and I’m trying to help my brother through a situation where he has told me he did nothing wrong,’ Chris testified. ‘And that’s it for me. Do I have any other options? How do I protect him? I probably should have focused more on how to protect myself. It just didn’t occur to me.
At the request of his brother’s aides, Cuomo also used his contacts to find out what other journalists were going to report, most notably the New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow. Cuomo argued ‘the idea of one reporter calling another to find out what’s coming down the pipe is completely business as usual.’
Cuomo testified that he didn’t tell anyone at CNN that he was contacting other journalists to find out about the Farrow piece.
After a third woman accused Chris of making the allegations about him brother, Chris stated on March 1 that he knew.
However, he stated that he was unable to report.
He stated, “Clearly I know what’s going on with my bro,”
“It is not possible for me to cover this because my brother is involved.” CNN must cover this. It has been extensively covered by CNN and they plan to continue doing so.
After he thanked his audience for being honest with him, he moved on to the next thing.
He stated that he has ‘always deeply cared about these topics, and profoundly so.
The handovers were painful and uncomfortable for several weeks. Chris wouldn’t discuss the news, which was at that time a major story. His co-hosts discussed the topic extensively before and after.
When it was first reported by The Washington Post last May that Cuomo had strategized with his brother’s aides, CNN said that it was inappropriate but did not discipline him.
‘When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly,’ a CNN spokesperson said on Tuesday. “But, we appreciated his unique situation and could understand his need for family and work first.
Andrew had to resign by August and Chris was fired on Tuesday, the same day that the Attorney General published the entire trove.