CNN just cannot seem to stay out of the headlines of late. Just as the dust was settling over Jeff Zucker’s resignation over his relationship with Allison Gollust, the network found itself potentially in a similar position one year later. Page Six is reporting that Jake Tapper’s right-hand person, executive producer Federico Quadrani, has been terminated from the network.
Quadrani was allegedly let go for having a consensual but still inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. He had been with Tapper’s show, The Lead With Jake Tapper, since 2013.
The evidence against Quadrani was allegedly found while he was under investigation for another relationship with a senior producer. “There were some complaints. No one had proof, and these things are hard to prove. Jake was aware of the investigation,” one source said.
Quadrani was about to be cleared of those charges when new evidence was found. It was something Tapper “couldn’t ignore.” For his part, Tapper acted quickly.
“Someone discovered something accidentally, and brought it to Tapper. He delivered it to [human resources], and they were terminated,” another source said.
CNN has declined to comment about the story, calling it a “personnel matter.” Quadrani has also not yet publicly commented on the situation. News is spreading about his termination. One source does not think it will be a big issue for the network.
“They’re consenting adults and no one’s particularly feeling like this is some big scandal,” the source said.
To learn more about this staffing shakeup at CNN, watch this video.
