CNN terminates anchor Chris Cuomo
Dec 05, 2021
New York [US], December 5 : CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has been fired, confirmed CNN on Saturday. The termination is effective immediately.
An outside law firm was hired to review and scrutinize information about exactly how Cuomo aided his brother, former New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, when the then-governor was accused of sexual harassment, reported CNN.
"Chris Cuomo was suspended earlier this week pending further evaluation of new information that came to light about his involvement with his brother's defence. We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him, effective immediately," informed CNN in a statement.
"While in the process of that review, additional information has come to light. Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate," the statement further read.
Departing CNN, Cuomo said, "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. 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 #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."
The new documents released on Monday showed that the veteran journalist was more intimately involved than previously known in shaping his brother's defence.
"The New York Attorney General's office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo's involvement in his brother's defence," a CNN spokesperson said Tuesday evening.
"The documents which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions."
"When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother's staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly," the spokesperson continued. "But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second."
"However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother's efforts than we previously knew," the spokesperson added. "As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation."
The suspension came after significant criticism from people who noted that Chris Cuomo had violated widely accepted journalistic norms.
Multiple women, including former and current aides, have accused the governor of inappropriate remarks and behaviour, including unwanted touching and unwelcome sexual advances, as reported by Al Jazeera.
However, Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing, while suggesting that his relationships with employees he viewed as friends may have been misinterpreted.