CNN’s Allison Gollust Resigns, Following Jeff Zucker, After Probe Into ‘Issues’ With Chris Cuomo

Allison Gollust, communications director for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in Albany, N.Y., on Jan. 3, 2013. Mike Groll/AP Photo

Allison Gollust, the CNN executive who is in a relationship with former CNN President Jeff Zucker, has resigned from the company just weeks after he left, the network said on Feb. 15.

Jason Kilar, the CEO of the network’s parent company WarnerMedia, announced Gollust’s resignation in a memo to staff on Tuesday evening.

Kilar said the executive’s resignation came following an investigation “into issues associated with” former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo and his brother, the former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo.

Chris Cuomo was fired from the network in December 2021, after nearly eight years.

Chris Cuomo at the WarnerMedia Upfront 2019 arrivals on the red carpet at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, on May 15, 2019. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for WarnerMedia

His termination came following an investigation into his conduct over materials that suggested he was more involved in defending his brother against accusations of sexual abuse and harassment last year.

Andrew Cuomo denied the accusations, but he resigned in August 2021 after an investigation led by New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office found that he had sexually harassed 11 women.

“Earlier today Allison Gollust resigned from CNN following the conclusion of the company’s investigation into issues associated with Chris Cuomo and former Governor Andrew Cuomo,” Kilar said in the memo.

“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,” Kilar wrote.

The WarnerMedia CEO went on to state that CNN has the “highest standards of journalistic integrity” and that those rules “apply to everyone equally.”

“Given the information provided to me in the investigation, I strongly believe we have taken the right actions and the right decisions have been made,” he added.

The announcement regarding Gollust’s resignation comes just weeks after CNN President Jeff Zucker abruptly resigned on Feb. 2 following the fallout from the investigation into Chris Cuomo.

Jeff Zucker, president of CNN, poses for a photograph in New York City, N.Y., on Dec. 8, 2019. Mike Coppola/Getty Images for WarnerMedia

Zucker, who is the chairman of WarnerMedia’s news and sports division, told employees that he was asked about his relationship with Gollust as part of the probe into Cuomo’s time at CNN.

“I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong,” Zucker wrote in a memo. “As a result, I am resigning today.”

Gollust released a comment addressing her exit Tuesday night saying she was “disappointed” with WarnerMedia’s actions.

“I had hoped to share my news with you tonight myself, and WarnerMedia had assured me I could do that. Unfortunately, they jumped the gun, breaking their promise. I am sorry you had to learn this from someone other than me,” Gollust began in her message, published by Puck reporter Dylan Byers.

She also called WarnerMedia’s statement “an attempt to retaliate against me and change the media narrative in the wake of their disastrous handling of the last two weeks.”

“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,” she added.

CNN retained third-party law firm Cravath to assess Chris Cuomo’s conduct regarding his brother’s brother’s sexual harassment scandal. That law firm, CNN said, determined the network had grounds to terminate him.

Earlier this month, a fifth prosecutor declined to pursue charges against Andrew Cuomo but urged lawmakers to change sex offense laws.

The decision by Oswego County District Attorney Gregory Oakes brings to an end the last of five criminal probes into the disgraced former governor regarding allegations of sexual misconduct.

CNN has fired or forced out multiple employees accused of improper behavior, including several producers charged or accused of illegal conduct related to minors in recent years.