61% Say CNN Right to Remove Cuomo: Poll

A total of 61% of respondents in a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll said CNN was correct in removing Chris Cuomo from his anchor position after documents showed how he helped his brother's efforts to deal with sexual harassment allegations, The Hill reported Tuesday.

The same number of respondents indicated they believed the anchor had hid the extent to which he was helping his brother, former New York Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll was conducted among 1,989 registered voters during a three-day period ending Dec. 2, two days before CNN fired Chris.

The CNN anchor had been suspended on Nov. 30 following the release of additional documents from the New York State attorney general's office as part of its investigation into allegations surrounding the former governor.

Chris previously had been named in the attorney general's report as having coordinated with top aides to his brother as they tried to protect the governor from allegations of sexual misconduct.

The New York Times reported that on Dec. 1, a prominent employment attorney informed CNN of a client with an allegation of sexual misconduct against Chris himself. Attorney Debra Katz said in a statement Saturday that the allegation against the anchor, which was made by a former junior colleague at another network, was "unrelated to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo matter."

Chris issued a statement following his dismissal by the network.

"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," Cuomo said in the statement. "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 No. 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."

Chris issued another statement accusing CNN President Jeff Zucker of knowing all about his involvement in trying to helped his brother, The Wall Street Journal reported.

A spokesman for Chris said that the anchor and Zucker "were widely known to be extremely close and in regular contact, including about the details of Mr. Cuomo’s support for his brother. There were no secrets about this, as other individuals besides Mr. Cuomo can attest."

Federal prosecutors have widened the scope of their investigation into former Gov. Cuomo to include a civil rights investigation, the Times reported.

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