The Other McCain

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CNN: Zucker Going Down Next?

Posted on | December 6, 2021 | Comments Off on CNN: Zucker Going Down Next?

Over the weekend, CNN announced that Chris “Fredo” Cuomo was being terminated “effective immediately,” and rumors immediately began to swirl about the nature of the “additional information” which the network said had “come to light” during their review of Cuomo’s case. Julia Marsh of the New York Post says her sources tell her it’s about “an alleged Chris Cuomo sexual harassment victim represented by a high profile attorney” — I’m guessing Gloria Allred, who always shows up at a sex scandal the way vultures show up for a dead carcass.

Now, the headline at Twitchy:

With next to nothing left to lose,
Chris Cuomo is apparently trying to take
CNN head Jeff Zucker down with him

That item links to a New York Post story:

In a new statement, a spokesman for the fallen TV star threw his longtime ally CNN President Jeff Zucker under the bus, while insisting the journalist “has the highest level of admiration and respect” for him.
“They were widely known to be extremely close and in regular contact, including about the details of Mr. Cuomo’s support for his brother,” the spokesman told the Wall Street Journal Sunday of Chris Cuomo’s shady support for his big brother as the governor’s sex scandal unfolded. . . .
The statement, however, prompted CNN to slam Chris Cuomo for peddling more alleged lies.
“He has made a number of accusations that are patently false,” the network told the WSJ. “This reinforces why he was terminated for violating our standards and practices, as well as his lack of candor.”

Here’s the the thing: It doesn’t matter if Cuomo is lying. Zucker was responsible for hiring Cuomo, and was therefore responsible for, at a minimum, tolerating an apparent conflict of interest. It would be difficult for Zucker to shield himself from blame even if CNN had good ratings, but their ratings are in the toilet, and the network recently changed owners, with David Zaslav now the de facto boss. If Zaslav needed an excuse to clean house, the Cuomo scandal is a gift-wrapped Christmas present, and this could be the end of Zucker’s tenure at CNN.




 

Category: CNN

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