(FreedomBeacon.com)- Former CNN chief Jeff Zucker’s paramour Allison Gollust was forced to resign last Tuesday after an internal investigation discovered a trove of communications between her and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
According to the New York Times, in the early months of the pandemic, Gollust’s communications with Cuomo included screening possible interview questions in advance and clearing them with the governor.
While it isn’t uncommon for producers to talk with guests ahead of their interviews to discuss questions or topics likely to come up, it is unheard of for a senior executive to involve herself in the pre-interview process.
In a memo to CNN staff announcing Gollust’s resignation, the chief executive of WarnerMedia, CNN’s parent company, said the internal investigation found that Gollust, along with Zucker and former host Chris Cuomo had violated company policies including CNN’s “news standards and practices.”
The internal review was conducted by the law firm Cravath Swaine & Moore. It was initially launched last fall to investigate allegations of workplace misconduct by former host Chris Cuomo. But during the course of their review, the Cravath investigators discovered the affair between Zucker and Gollust that had not been disclosed to CNN or WarnerMedia.
Investigators also found the written communications between Andrew Cuomo and Gollust, who briefly worked for Cuomo in late 2012 and early 2013.
Among the communications were messages in which Governor Cuomo told Gollust the specific subjects he wanted to be covered during his March 28, 2020 interview on CNN. Among the topics Cuomo requested was a recent phone conversation he had with former President Trump.
In response to his request, Gollust told the Governor “Done.”
She then told CNN staff what questions Governor Cuomo requested and asked that the interview include those questions. Cravath investigators reviewed the transcript of the March 28 interview and discovered that the anchor stuck to the script.
Risa Heller, a spokeswoman for Allison Gollust told the New York Times that there was nothing untoward about Gollust’s communications with Governor Cuomo, describing them as “appropriate.” Heller said that Gollust “in no way suggested” that the interview include Cuomo’s preferred questions.
Heller said WarnerMedia’s dismissal of Gollust was “nothing more than retaliation.”
