Rating-ravaged CNN has shown anchor Chris Cuomo the door after “additional information” shed light on his efforts to help his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, deal with allegations of sexual misconduct.

Cuomo, who hosted CNN’s most-watched prime-time news show, had been suspended on Tuesday (US time).

He had admitted in May that he had broken some of the cable news network’s rules in advising his brother how to handle the allegations from a public relations perspective.

Andrew Cuomo, 63, tagged by critics as the ‘groping governor’, was forced to step down as governor in August after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The sacking comes as CNN’s declining viewership has left Rupert Murdoch’s at the top of the ratings’ chart, with 14 of the 15 most-watched cable shows.

Immediately terminated

In a statement on Saturday, CNN said: “Chris Cuomo was suspended earlier this week pending further evaluation of new information that came to light about his involvement with his brother’s defence.”

“We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him, effective immediately.”

The network did not provide details on the new information.

In a statement on Twitter, Cuomo, 51, said he was disappointed.

“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,” he said.

In journalism it is considered a breach of ethics to use one’s position to advocate for a personal cause or to conduct investigations for personal reasons.

Cuomo was initially suspended after New York Attorney General Letitia James showed text and other messages in which he sought to use his own sources in news media outlets to find out information on the case and the women involved in it.

Criminal  proceedings

A criminal complaint charging Andrew Cuomo with a misdemeanour sex offence was filed on October 29 in a New York court.

Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, gained national fame last year during the COVID-19 outbreak for his briefings about how New York was dealing with the outbreak, and would often appear on his brother’s show.

The two brothers’ father, the late Mario Cuomo, also served as governor of New York.

-with AAP