The announcement came after an outside law firm was retained to review information about exactly how Cuomo aided his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, when the then-governor was accused of sexual harassment.
CNN said in a statement: “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 the contours of Chris Cuomo’s involvement with the governor’s office were reported several months ago, the specifics were detailed in a massive document dump on Monday. The documents — released by New York Attorney General Letitia James after an investigation into the governor — showed that Chris Cuomo, while working as one of CNN’s top anchors, was also effectively working as an unpaid aide to the governor.
The announcement completed a stunning downfall for Chris Cuomo, the top-rated anchor at CNN and a veteran television journalist who had built a successful broadcast career outside of his famed political family. Until last month, Mr. Cuomo, the host of the 9 p.m. program “Cuomo Prime Time,” had enjoyed the support of CNN’s president, Jeff Zucker, and he faced no discipline for his behind-the-scenes strategizing with Andrew Cuomo’s political aides, a breach of basic journalistic norms.
