Why CNN fired Chris Cuomo following his Gov. brother Andrew Cuomo's sex scandal

This is what you call double jeopardy!

CNN fired anchor Chris Cuomo on Saturday less than a week after new information emerged about how he assisted his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, as the politician faced sexual harassment allegations earlier this year. 

The network had suspended its prime-time host on Tuesday to investigate his conduct, after New York's attorney general released details showing he was more involved than previously known in helping to strategise and reach out to other journalists as his brother fought to keep his job. 

CNN hired a law firm for that review, which it would not identify. The lawyers recommended Chris Cuomo's termination and CNN chief Jeff Zucker informed the anchor of the decision on Saturday. 

“It goes without saying that these decisions are not easy, and there are a lot of complex factors involved,” Zucker said in an email to CNN staff. The network said that “while in the process of that review, additional information has come to light". 

CNN would not discuss that information, or characterise whether it had anything to do with his brother. Chris issued a statement on Twitter calling the decision disappointing. “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. 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," he said. 

Even with the firing, CNN said it will continue to investigate Chris's conduct “as appropriate". 

A year ago the two sons of the late New York Governor Mario Cuomo were flying high: Andrew as a three-term governor praised initially in many circles for his handling of the pandemic, Chris as the top-rated personality on CNN. Now they're both out of work.