Alternative headline: Fredo was whacked for being too loyal to the family.

I’m sorry, that just wrote itself.

But the statement from CNN was pretty clear. Chris Cuomo has been terminated by CNN, effective immediately. You’re reading that right. The same network that let Jeffrey Toobin back on the air after masturbating on a Zoom call has FIRED Chris Cuomo.

Statement on Chris Cuomo’s termination from CNN. pic.twitter.com/yKPwYtMznD

— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) December 4, 2021

Okay, I have an question. I bet it’s the same question that everyone else is asking right now, too.

What possible “additional information” has been uncovered by this law firm that would be WORSE than masturbating in front of your co-workers?

Let’s think about what we DO know. We know that Chris Cuomo lied straight to everyone’s faces and claimed that he was “just a loving brother” to his sleazeball brother Andrew. In reality, he was actively tracking down leads and information regarding his brother’s accusers, and giving that information to Andrew’s squad of enablers, of which he is chief. Why CNN expected anything different from Chris, when he fully admitted that his family would always come first on air, is just stupid. The ethical lapses that CNN has allowed Chris Cuomo up to this point have been beyond lenient. The general feeling was that the network would make Chris sit on time-out for a while – Toobin had an eight month time-out – and then he would be allowed back on air, where he would apologize for loving his brother too much (or whatever else the lawyers would make him say), and the entire thing would be swept under the rug.

Instead, less than a week after Chris Cuomo’s “indefinite” suspension is announced, he is fired by CNN.

Chris Cuomo has released a statement, tweeted out by now-former colleage Brian Stelter.

"…in the most competitive time slot. I owe them all and will miss that group of special people who did really important work." (2/2)

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 4, 2021

And the initial spin from CNN’s mouthpieces seem to be “oh wow, look at how ethical we are, we actually fired Chris Cuomo.”

One of the points I made on @CNN TV tonight: This may have been a case of death-by-a-thousand-cuts. Chris Cuomo was continually causing headaches for management. And the headaches were likely to continue. pic.twitter.com/YZJBiPRwTS

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 4, 2021

Anyone buying that excuse? After letting Chris interview Andrew on air and run right over every single tenet of journalistic ethics in the process, NOW the network is concerned about ethics and appearances? Sorry, not buying it. Something else is going on here.

Remember, Chris Cuomo was also accused of harassment himself – something he admitted to doing IN WRITING – and even THAT wasn’t enough to get him suspended or fired by CNN. So, what gives? What could possibly have pushed CNN over the proverbial edge here?

There were rumors that CNN was looking into Chris Cuomo’s own staff for helping him cover up for Andrew Cuomo and smearing his accusers. Might someone on staff, in an attempt to save their own skin, have squealed on Chris? Remember, Andrew is now accused of making his OWN staff write his stupid self-congratulatory COVID-19 book. While I don’t want to say that Chris abused his staff in a similar manner without proof, the rumor that they are also being investigated here makes it seem within the realm of probability. Let us speculate here: what if Chris Cuomo, in his attempt to help Andrew, assigned his staff to dig up whatever dirt they could find on the women accusing Andrew? And what if one of his staff objected to that task? And what if Chris then threatened someone’s job if they DIDN’T help Andrew out? Again, this is massive speculation. But I will say it again: Jeffrey Toobin still has a job at CNN, and now Chris Cuomo no longer does. Why is that? What would finally spur CNN executives to fire Chris Cuomo?

I think that eventually, we will find out what the “additional information” was, and I don’t think it will be as mundane as Stelter’s “death by a thousand cuts” excuse. I wonder what Don Lemon will have to say about his friendship with Chris Cuomo now?

Featured image: Chris Cuomo at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, cropped, public domain