CNN’s firing of Chris Cuomo came just days after the network was made aware of a sexual misconduct allegation against the former anchor, according to a new report.
Cuomo, who was fired Saturday afternoon by the cable news network, had been placed on suspension Tuesday after documents released a day earlier as part of a state investigation of his brother, the former governor of New York, revealed he worked with top aides to the governor to protect the Democrat from allegations of sexual misconduct.
The New York Times reported that on Wednesday, Debra S. Katz, an attorney who is also representing a woman who has accused the former governor of misconduct, informed CNN of a different client with an allegation of sexual misconduct against Chris Cuomo.
Katz told the Times the allegation, which has been made by a junior staffer at a news network that is not CNN, is “unrelated to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo matter.”
“Based on the report we received regarding Chris’s conduct with his brother’s defense, we had cause to terminate,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill on Sunday. “When new allegations came to us this week, we took them seriously, and saw no reason to delay taking immediate action.”
Katz said in a statement issued on Sunday that by Friday she “was in discussions with CNN about providing documentary evidence of my client’s allegations and making my client available for an interview with CNN’s outside counsel.”
“My client came forward at this time because she felt in sharing her story and related documentation, she could help protect other women,” Katz said. “She will continue to cooperate with CNN’s investigation into her allegations. Given the nature of her allegations, she wishes to remain anonymous, and we ask that you respect this decision.”
CNN said when it terminated Cuomo on Saturday afternoon it had retained “a respected law firm to conduct the review,” of the anchor’s conduct.
“While in the process of that review, additional information has come to light. Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate,” the network said.
A spokesperson for Chris Cuomo denied the sexual misconduct allegations in a statement to the Times.
“These apparently anonymous allegations are not true,” Steven Goldberg, Cuomo’s spokesperson said.
After his firing on Saturday, Cuomo said “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,” he said in a statement, adding “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 Saturday came after a mounting pressure both internally and externally to take action against the primetime cable news host, who initially told viewers he “never made calls” to the media about the allegations against his brother, who resigned in August.