How a secret sexual misconduct allegation against Chris Cuomo set off a chain of events that led to Jeff Zucker's ouster from CNN

The New York Times

On Nov. 30, Cuomo was summoned to a meeting by then-CNN president Jeff Zucker and his then-secret romantic partner Allison Gollust, the network’s chief marketing officer, reports The New York Times. Zucker told Cuomo he was suspending him for his unethical interactions with his older brother, Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor. A shocked Cuomo offered to resign, but Zucker "countered that the anchor might be able to return at some point, according to people with knowledge of the conversation," reports The Times'  Emily Steel, Jodi Kantor, Michael M. Grynbaum, James B. Stewart and John Koblin. "Mr. Cuomo felt reassured. He and Mr. Zucker were confidants, their fortunes entwined. Mr. Cuomo didn’t bother to consult a lawyer. Barely 24 hours later, a letter arrived at CNN. It was from a lawyer representing a woman who had worked with Mr. Cuomo years earlier at ABC News. She said he had sexually assaulted her and that, in the heat of the #MeToo movement, Mr. Cuomo had tried to keep her quiet by arranging a flattering CNN segment about her employer at the time. The letter described it as an 'abuse of power at CNN to attempt to silence my client.' While a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo denied the allegations in the letter, it set in motion a chain of events that would quickly upend one of the world’s most powerful news networks. By week’s end, Mr. Zucker had fired Mr. Cuomo, telling him that a drumbeat of scandals had become 'too much for us.' Two months later, Mr. Zucker was forced to resign. On Tuesday, CNN announced that Ms. Gollust, too, was leaving the network." In a memo Tuesday to CNN staff, WarnerMedia CEO wrote of the investigation: “Performed by a third-party law firm and led by a former federal judge, the investigation was comprehensive and definitive.  It was commissioned in September and concluded this weekend, which now allows me to share additional information with you. Based on interviews of more than 40 individuals and a review of over 100,000 texts and emails, the investigation found violations of Company policies, including CNN’s News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo.” In a statement, Gollust fired back at CNN:  "WarnerMedia’s statement tonight is an attempt to retaliate against me and change the media narrative in the wake of their disastrous handling of the last two weeks," she said. "It is deeply disappointing that after spending the past nine years defending and upholding CNN’s highest standards of journalistic integrity, I would be treated this way as I leave. But I do so with my head held high, knowing that I gave my heart and soul to working with the finest journalists in the world."