Anchor of Cuomo Prime Time and brother of the former Governor of New York State, Chris Cuomo, has been given the boot by CNN
By Kehinde Okeowo
American journalist and anchor of Cuomo Prime Time, a weeknight news analysis show on Cable News Network (CNN) has been relieved of his duties by his employer.
The organization said Saturday that the presenter has been “terminated” by the network, “effective immediately.”
Cuomo was initially suspended indefinitely by CNN after he was indicted by the New York legal department.
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The release of legal transcripts showed he actively helped his brother Andrew, the then governor of New York, to combat allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
The CNN spokesperson announced his indefinite suspension via a statement that reads:
“New York Attorney General’s office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo’s involvement in his brother’s defense.
“The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions.
“As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.”
An outside law firm was later retained to review information about how Cuomo aided his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo when the then-governor was accused of sexual harassment.
Upon the firm’s findings and recommendation, CNN has now decided to part ways with its former Anchor.
A CNN statement which announced the termination of his appointment reads:
“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 that review, additional information has come to light,” CNN’s statement added. “Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate.”
Chris Cuomo’s involvement with the governor’s office was reported several months ago, the details of his role were revealed in the massive document dump on Monday.
The documents, which were 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.
Cuomo’s early career in journalism included appearances related to social and political issues on CNBC, MSNBC, and CNN. He was a correspondent and political policy analyst for Fox News and Fox Broadcast Network’s Fox Files.
He later worked with ABC, where he joined CNN in February 2013, to co-host its morning show. He made his debut on CNN as field anchor on the February 8, 2013, episode of Piers Morgan Tonight.
In March 2018, Chris Cuomo, while serving as the co-anchor of CNN’s morning show New Day, was redeployed to prime time to host Cuomo Prime Time.