CNN has suspended star primetime anchor Chris Cuomo after fresh documents showed he leaned on media sources to help unearth dirt about the foes of his 63-year-old brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, reports the Daily Beast.
The New York Attorney Generals office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomos involvements in his brothers defense,” the Daily Beast quoted a CNN spokesperson as saying on Tuesday evening.
“The documents, which we were not privy to us before their public release, raise serious questions.”
CNN said it would conduct a thorough review of the anchors conduct in the coming days.
When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brothers staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly,” CNN said.
“But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second.
“However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brothers efforts than we previously knew. As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.
Andrew Cuomo denied wrongdoing but resigned as Governor of New York in August a week after damning findings of the were released in which at least 11 women had accused him of harassment.
These new documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brothers efforts than we previously knew, the network admitted on Tuesday night. Suggestions are that the 51-year-old star CNN presenter is never coming back.
The Daily Beast said people with knowledge of the situation said CNN boss Jeff Zucker had felt serious heat from other staffers, including Jake Tapper, over the last 24 hours and acted to yank Cuomo off the air while the review was carried out.
