CNN officially terminates Chris Cuomo | Breaking
CNN issued a statement on termination of Chris Cuomo after conducting review of anchor aiding brother's defense
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was fired from the network "effective immediately" following the internal review of "a respected law firm," the company announced Saturday.
"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," CNN said in a statement. "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," the statement added.
Cuomo responded to his termination, saying in a statement, "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."
Cuomo's firing came after CNN suspended him last week, pending evaluation of his conduct following revelations from the New York attorney general's investigation into his brother, ousted Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo performed prop comedy with his brother New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during a widely panned segment in 2020. (CNN)
Transcripts from his interview with state investigators revealed CNN star admitting he would reach out to media sources to find out about new accusers who had yet to come forward publicly.
"When asked, I would reach out to sources, other journalists, to see if they had heard of anybody else coming out," Cuomo told investigators.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during the daily media briefing at the Office of the Governor of the State of New York on June 12, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images) (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)
"The 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," CNN said in a Tuesday statement announcing Cuomo's suspension.
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"The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions. When Chris admitted to us he had offered advice to his brother's staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly. But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second," the statement added.
"However, 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," CNN added.
Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.