CNN’s Chris Cuomo was fired on Saturday due to his involvement with his brother, Andrew M. Cuomo.
It was reported after an investigation that Chris was aiding his brother Andrew by helping him navigate his sexual harassment accusations.
Chris was suspended on Tuesday after testimony and text messages released by the New York attorney general revealed a much more involved role in his brother’s political affairs than Chris let on.
And on Wednesday, Debra S. Katz, an employment lawyer, informed CNN of a client with an allegation of sexual misconduct against Chris.
Ms. Katz revealed in a statement on Saturday that the allegation against the anchor, which was made by a former junior colleague at another network, was “unrelated to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo matter.”
Ms. Katz is also the lawyer for Charlotte Bennett. Bennett was a onetime aide to Andrew who accused him of sexual harassment in February.
When prompted about the new allegation, a CNN spokeswoman said in a statement on Saturday night: “Based on the report we received regarding Chris’s conduct with his brother’s defense, we had cause to terminate. When new allegations came to us this week, we took them seriously, and saw no reason to delay taking immediate action.”
Steven Goldberg, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, said in a statement on Saturday, “These apparently anonymous allegations are not true.”
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Ms. Katz revealed that her client “came forward because she was disgusted by Chris’s on-air statements in response to the allegations made against his brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo.” Ms. Katz went on to cite a March 1 broadcast where Chris Cuomo said: “I have always cared very deeply about these issues, and profoundly so. I just wanted to tell you that.”
Mr. Cuomo’s spokesman fired back, defending Chris, saying how he “fully stands by his on-air statements about his connection to these issues, both professionally and in a profoundly personal way. If the goal in making these false and unvetted accusations was to see Mr. Cuomo punished by CNN, that may explain his unwarranted termination.”
CNN stated earlier on Saturady how they “retained a respected law firm to conduct a review” of the anchor’s involvement with his brother’s political team. “While in the process of that review, additional information has come to light,” CNN stated. “Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate.”