The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chris Cuomo fired by CNN after inquiry into aid to brother
Network: ‘Additional information’ led to termination.
CNN has terminated host Chris Cuomo following an investigation conducted by a law firm that turned up “additional information.”
Cuomo was “indefinitely” suspended by CNN on Tuesday, a day after documents released by New York Attorney General Letitia James showed he was more extensively involved in helping to defend his brother, then- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, against allegations of sexual misconduct than he had acknowledged — either publicly or to CNN management.
In a statement on Saturday evening, the network said: “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. We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him, effective immediately. While in the process of that review, additional information has come to light. Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate.”
Following his suspension Tuesday, the 9 p.m. hour on CNN was hosted this week by anchor Anderson Cooper, who extended his normal 8 p.m. show. This week, Cuomo’s time slot is scheduled to be filled by CNN Saturday morning host Michael Smerconish. The network has not announced hosting plans beyond this week.
While Cuomo’s suspension led to a round of speculation about whether he will ultimately leave the network, and, if so, who could potentially replace him in the coveted 9 p.m. slot, someone close to the situation told The Washington Post on Wednesday that Cuomo’s fate had not been decided and that the network would be guided by the results of the “further evaluation” that it pledged to conduct Tuesday. If the network had decided that Cuomo could not return, the person said, it would have sought his departure.
However, the network did not say how long the review process would take. CNN’s chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter, floated the possibility on air that Cuomo could conceivably return to his show in January.
On his SiriusXM radio show on Wednesday afternoon, Cuomo told listeners that he was “embarrassed” by the network’s decision to suspend him, which he said “hurts.” He said he would respect the network’s evaluation process and stay quiet in the meantime. “I know they have a process that they think is important,” he said. “I respect that process. So I’m not going to talk about this anymore than that.”
The 348-page interview transcript and communications records released Monday as part of the New York State attorney general’s investigation showed that Chris Cuomo played a significant role in his brother’s rapid response operation, drafting up statements for his brother to read and weighing in on strategy debates. Most significantly for his role at CNN, the documents showed that Cuomo leaned on his journalistic sources to glean information about forthcoming articles that could negatively impact his brother and his futile fight to keep the governorship. “When asked, I would reach out to sources, other journalists, to see if they had heard of anybody else coming out,” he told investigators, referring to the potential for additional women to accuse his brother of misconduct.