CNN fires Chris Cuomo for assisting his brother in a sexual harassment lawsuit against former governor

CNN has fired star director Chris Cuomo “immediately”, days after the New York attorney general described in detail how the journalist helped protect his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, from torture.

On Saturday, CNN reported: “We have retained a reputable law firm for review and we have resigned [Chris Cuomo], immediately acting. ”

“We are in the process of reviewing this information,” said the TV network, adding: “Even if it is resolved, we will continue to investigate as best we can.”

Andrew Cuomo was forced resignation in August after Letitia James, a New York attorney general found guilty of violating federal law by raping 11 women.

CNN said the anchor of the “Cuomo Prime Time” program admitted to breaking online rules by giving advice to his brother’s staff on how to deal with the problem. But documents released by James’ office on Monday showed greater concern than previously reported, the network said.

In his statement, Chris Cuomo said: “This is not how I want my time at CNN to end, but I have already told you why and how I have helped my brother.”

He praised the team that worked on “Cuomo Prime Time”. “I am indebted to everyone and I need a special group of people who did a very important job,” he added.

The shooting shows how Cuomo struggled to protect his brother at CNN, which is owned by AT&T but is preparing for its new owners. AT&T has agreed to sell its WarnerMedia subsidiary, which owns CNN and the HBO network, at Discovery.

After being commended for his action in the early days of the epidemic, Andrew Cuomo’s support dropped dramatically. He was forced to resign as New York governor earlier this year after a number of women accused him of rape.

Although Chris Cuomo did not cover the story at his show, he advised his brother’s senior aides to deal with the situation and wanted to know what his rival journalists were doing.

Cuomo joined CNN in 2013 and rose to become one of his star sponsors, taking time starting at 9pm on network coverage during Trump’s crisis. Cuomo’s controversy escalated as his brother grew older during the epidemic as a Democratic ambassador in New York, holding daily press conferences on coronavirus.

CNN was criticized for breaking the law at the time, especially after airing interviews between the brothers when the two had a disagreement.

When it was discovered that Chris Cuomo was advising the governor on how to handle the allegations, some CNN reporters expressed their dissatisfaction with this.

Jake Tapper in May told The New York Times: “I can not imagine a world in which every journalist thinks it was so.”

The show comes as David Zaslav, head of Discovery, plans to run a joint venture with Warner-Discovery.

Zaslav visited CNN headquarters on Tuesday at a pre-arranged meeting with senior officials, according to people familiar with the matter.

A few hours later, CNN announced that Cuomo had been suspended indefinitely.