Cuomo ‘Livid’ After Shock Firing by CNN

CNN fired star primetime anchor Chris Cuomo on Saturday after the network said “new information” emerged on the extent of his involvement with his brother’s battle against sexual harassment allegations.

Cuomo is “livid” at his termination and in talks with lawyers, a person familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast.

“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,” Cuomo said in a statement immediately after the news broke.

The top-rated anchor’s termination came as a surprise to many. The network had announced his suspension just four days earlier, on Tuesday, and by Saturday the investigation had uncovered “additional information” and the Cuomo Prime Time host was swiftly kicked to the curb.

It was not immediately clear what new information prompted the decision. But The New York Times reports that CNN was made aware earlier this week of a sexual misconduct allegation against Chris Cuomo that was said to be “unrelated to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo matter.” The allegation reportedly came from a former junior colleague at a different network.

A spokesperson for Cuomo denied the allegation and questioned whether the claim is what led to his “unwarranted termination.”

But CNN, for its part, said the host’s fate at the network was sealed before the allegation came to light.

“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,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement.

Documents released earlier this week as part of an investigation by New York’s attorney general painted a damning picture of the news anchor’s role in his brother’s defense strategy. Cuomo told his brother’s aides he would use his own sources to investigate then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s accusers, a major breach of journalistic ethics. What’s more, a law firm hired by the cable network found in an internal review that what Cuomo had disclosed to his employer did not match what emerged in the attorney general’s documents later, and CNN determined it had standing to can him, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The network issued a statement: “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. 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 law firm began its review of Cuomo’s on-air remarks versus what he told his employer mid-week and concluded it Friday, per a person familiar with the process, and CNN president Jeff Zucker informed Cuomo on Saturday that he would be fired.