The news comes less than a week after the newsman was suspended indefinitely.
CNN has fired Chris Cuomo. The cable news network made the announcement on Saturday, less than a week after the newsman was indefinitely suspended from his position as host of Cuomo Prime Time. The suspension, and subsequent firing, came amid newly surfaced documents that indicated he was more deeply involved in helping his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, build a legal defense against multiple allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct.
"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," reads a statement from CNN. "We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him, effective immediately."
The network also revealed that "while in the process of that review, additional information has come to light." CNN says despite Cuomo's termination, they "will investigate as appropriate."
Minutes after the news broke, Cuomo addressed the firing.
"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. "So let me now say 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."
The 51-year-old anchor addressed the suspension Wednesday at the top of his SiriusXM show, Let's Get After It With Chris Cuomo, saying he was embarrassed by the situation but understood why CNN came to that decision.
"I've been suspended from CNN," Cuomo said. "You know this already. It hurts to even say it. It's embarrassing, but I understand it."
A spokesperson for the network told ET in a statement earlier this week, "The New York Attorney General’s office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo’s involvement in his brother’s defense. The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions."
The spokesperson added, "When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly. 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 brother’s efforts than we previously knew."
The newly surfaced documents released this week showed text messages between the TV journalist and his brother's top aide, Melissa DeRosa. The documents allegedly indicated Cuomo may have used his sources as a journalist and media personality to assist in his brother's defense and public statements, according to CBS News.
On the night Cuomo's brother resigned in disgrace over the barrage of sexual assault allegations, he addressed the news on his show and told his viewers that "this situation is unlike anything I could have imagined."
He also said, "I'm not an adviser. I'm a brother. I wasn't in control of anything. I was there to listen and offer my take."
Cuomo, who never reported on his brother's scandal, reportedly triggered a dissent among CNN staffers, which was compounded after New York Attorney General Letitia James released the trove of documents linking Cuomo as being much more involved than had been previously known.
The firing brings an end to Cuomo's eight-year run at the network. He joined in February 2013 to co-host a morning show, before rising to the coveted primetime slot.
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