The announcement came after the then-governor was accused of sexual assault, retaining an outside law firm to review information on how Cuomo assisted his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. .
CNN suspended Cuomo “indefinitely” on Tuesday. According to a source with knowledge of the matter, the law firm maintained by the network presented its findings on Friday, and CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker fired Cuomo on Saturday.
The producers and other staff working on “Cuomo Prime Time” will remain in place. Cuomo’s regular substitute Michael Smirkonish will host the 9 p.m. Eastern Hour next week.
“In the process of that review, additional information has emerged,” the CNN statement said. “Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate.”
A CNN spokesperson declined to share any further details about the “additional information.”
In a Saturday statement of his own, Chris Cuomo said, “I don’t want to end my time at CNN, but I’ve already told you why and how I helped my brother. So now let me say Disappointingly, I couldn’t be more proud of the work Cuomo did on the team in prime time and in the most competitive time slot as CNN’s #1 show. I’m indebted to them all and remember that group of special people Who did a really important job.”
The day his brother resigned, back in August, Chris Cuomo told the audience that “this situation is unlike anything I could have imagined.”
“I’m not a mentor. I’m a brother. I had nothing in control. I was there to listen and have my say,” he said.
CNN management showed support for Cuomo, and “Cuomo Prime Time,” often the network’s highest-rated show, remained on the air throughout the controversy.
The discontent only intensified after James’ office released text messages, sworn testimony and other raw materials from his investigation into the ex-governor.
When the documents were released Monday, CNN management said it would review thousands of pages of additional tapes and exhibits “over the next several days.”
Then on Tuesday evening, CNN indicated that the material was so serious it could be suspended.
“When Chris admitted to us that he advised his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we publicly acknowledged that,” the network said in a statement. “But we also appreciated his unique position and understood his need to put family first and job second.”
“However,” the network said, “these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew. As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.” Is.”
According to Saturday’s announcement, an outside law firm was involved in the process, a fact not previously known.
Cuomo was notified of his termination on Saturday, with information in texts and documents pointing to serious violations of CNN standards.
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