WASHINGTON, Dec 4: Chris Cuomo, leading anchor at the CNN news broadcast network
and brother of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, has been fired for the
unprofessional act of trying to bail out his brother from sexual harassment
charges. Andrew resigned in August last. Investigation conducted by New York
Attorney General Letitia James found that Andrew sexually harassed 11 women
working for him.
The dismissal of the star anchor followed evidence released by the Attorney
General showing his dabling in the political affairs of his elder brother with
a view to helping him during his crisis period. A successful broadcast career
he had built up is over. CNN announced on Saturday that it terminated his services
with immediate effect.
Chris, 51, said in a statement that he was disappointed and it was "not how
I want my time at CNN to end". Being at the top, Chris had led the coverage
of the last presidential election. With the CNN since 2013, Chris had been under
suspension since Tuesday. The network said in a statement that Chris' action
vis-a-vis Andrew's case violated journalistic ethics.
Chris Cuomo's statement read, "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 Attorney General on Monday released documents showing how Chris interfered
with the Governor's staff. And the law firm engaged by the network to look into
the matter submitted its report on Friday. The termination followed immediately thereafter.
The producers and other staffers who work on "Cuomo Prime Time" will remain
in place. Michael Smerconish, Cuomo's regular substitute, will host the 9 pm.
Eastern hour next week.
The Cuomos are a political dynasty in the US.