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CNN FIRES Chris Cuomo: Internet asks how Tucker Carlson and Jeffrey Toobin are still employed

The Internet has said that what Cuomo did was not as heinous as the "thousands of lies Hannity, Tucker, and Ingraham have been peddling over the years

CNN on Saturday, December 4, announced that anchor Chris Cuomo has been "terminated" by the network, "effective immediately". This development comes amid an investigation into his involvement with helping defend brother Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor, against allegations of sexual misconduct. "We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him, effective immediately," a statement posted to CNN's official communications Twitter account said.

"While in the process of that review, additional information has come to light. Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate," the statement added. The producers and other staffers who work on "Cuomo Prime Time" will remain in place, but Cuomo will be substituted by Michael Smerconish.

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The termination comes after documents that surfaced showed that Chris Cuomo had offered advice to his politician brother Andrew Cuomo, who was accused of sexual harassment. The messages between the anchor and several aides and allies of the governor revealed that Cuomo attempted to make use of his connections in the press to help prepare Andrew Cuomo's team as stories by accusers began to become public. "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 had said.

In a statement of his own Saturday, Chris Cuomo said, "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 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."

CNN has indicated that the case was serious enough to merit a suspension. "When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother's staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly," the network said in a statement. "But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second."

"However," the network said, "these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother's efforts than we previously knew. As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation."

What is social media saying?

Social media users reacted to the termination, many of them claiming that what Cuomo did was not as heinous as the "thousands of lies Hannity, Tucker, and Ingraham have been peddling over the years." "So whatever Chris Cuomo did, it was worse than peddling Russia collusion lies like @jaketapper does, and worse than @JeffreyToobin’s at-work self-pleasuring. Because they’ve both kept their CNN jobs," one user wrote. Another wrote, "And Tucker Carlson still has a job. We just witnessed a fundamental difference between Fox News and CNN. CNN has standards. Chris Cuomo knows he screwed up and owns it. Neither Tucker nor his employer will never own up to the harm he does nightly."

".@ChrisCuomo did wrong. Period. He was digging up dirt on the women his brother sexually harassed. He ignored a clear conflict of interest. He was dishonest. @CNN had to let him go. But don’t give CNN a high five. They still employ the guy who masturbated in public," one user said, while another wrote, "Explain to me the the difference between Chris Cuomo-Andrew Cuomo and Sean Hannity-Donald Trump like I’m as stupid as Lauren Boebert."