Chris Cuomo’s texts were the final straw for CNN boss Jeff Zucker
CNN president Jeff Zucker hit the roof when he saw evidence showing that Chris Cuomo used his journalistic connections to try to helpš° his brother beat the sexual harassment scandal that forced him to resign as governor, The āPost has learned.
āIt was the straw that broke šthe camelās back,ā one CNN insider said Wednesday.
āZucker loved Chris, but the e-mails and texts š²did it.ā
Another CNN source said of Cuomo, āHis biggest crime was he š„lied to Zucker.ā
āHe didnāt own up to it,ā the source said.
āThereās nothing worse than an eā-mail or text. Itās in writing.ā
Sources said Zuckerās shock and anger over the revelations in documents released by state Attorney General Letitia James mean that the āCuomo Prime Timeā star is unlikšely to keep his job, which pays him a reported $6 ā million a year.
CNN announced Tuesday evening that it had āindefinitelyā suspended Cuomo, 51, āpending further evaluationā of thousands of pages of records ļ·ŗfrom Jamesā probe of foš rmer Gov. Andrew Cuomo
āI donāt see how he survives this,ā aš third source said of š«Chris Cuomo.
āThe buzz inside CNN is itās over.ā
On Wednesday morning, Zucker briefly brought up Chris Cuomoās suspension dš°uring a daily news meeting with CNN staffers, The Washington Post reported.
āI felt it was the appropriate course of action,ā Zucker said.
āWe will keep you posted on how we dealį£ with programming going forward.ā
If Cuoš¦¹moās suspension becomes permanent, CNNās Jake Tapper, who hosts āThe Leadā from 4 p.ź¦Æm. to 6 p.m. weekdays, appears to be the front-runner to replace him, sources said.
Onš°e source said Tapper ā who publicly blasted Chris Cuomoās ethics in May, after The Washington Post revealed he took part in strategy sessions with his brotherās aides and advisers ā appeared to be gunning for the gig.
CNNās Don Lemon, who hosts the 10 p.m. shoź§w that follows āCuomo Prime Timeā is also considered a top contender, sources said, with oź¦¬ne adding that chief media correspondent Brian ĀStelter āwants the job.ā
Meanwhile, morningš show, Stelter publicly predicted that Cuomo could return as early as next š«month.
Stelter said it was a ācomplicated situationā because despite widespread outrage, āa lot of viewersź¦ŗ .ā.ā. love Chriš³s Cuomo and they want to see him back on the air.ā
āI think the bottom line is, ĀCuomo šis on the bench for now,ā he saidš¦.
āWeāre heading into a holiday season. I think itās possible he will be on the bench fšor several weeks. I think itās possible heāll be back in January.ā
Cuomoās suspeą¼nsion was reported on CNN by fellow host Anderson Cooper while sitting next to the networkās scandal-scarred chief legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.
In October 2020, Toobin took a leave of absence from CNN after getting caught masturbating š°during an online meeting with staffers from The New Yorker magazine and the WNYC radio station.
Although The New Yorker suspended and later fired Toobin after 27 years as one of its marquee writers, CNN wš elcomed him back eigšht months later.
The documents released Monday by James ā whose explosive, Aug. 3 sexual harassment report against Andrew Cuomo led him to resign a week later ā showed that Chris Cuomo pressed his news industry āsourcesā for advance infoź¦rmation about upcoming reports about his older brother, iš½ncluding by Pulitzer Prize-winner Ronan Farrow.
The younger Cuomo also tried to dig up dirt on at least one šaccuser, Anna Ruch, after she told The New York Times that Andrew Cuomo made inappropriateš advances during a wedding reception at which she was photographed cringing as he held both sides of her face while looming over her.
āI have a lead on the wedding girl,ā Chris Cuomo texted his brotherās top aide, Melissa ĀDeRosa, on March 4, twšÆo days after š·the Times report.
He later testified during questioning by Jamesā investigators thšat, āMy friź©µend had heard that maybe she had been put up to it.ā