It’s been one year since former CNN chief Jeff Zucker resigned over his relationship with top exec Allison Gollust — and now the network is weathering a new alleged scandal.
Jake Tapper’s executive producer, Federico Quadrani, was ousted from the news network last week, we hear, after it came to light he’d been hooking up with a subordinate, according to sources.
The news is spreading at CNN, one source said, warning, “It’s going to get out.”
Sources told us Quadrani was already under an HR-led “investigation of sorts” over rumors of an inappropriate 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,” another source told us.
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But just as they were about to be cleared of the HR probe, Tapper was “presented with something that he couldn’t ignore,” last Wednesday and his right-hand man was out at CNN by Friday, we’re told.
“Jake was made aware of it and acted quickly. Someone discovered something accidentally, and brought it to Tapper. He delivered it to [human resources], and they were terminated,” the second source said.
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A spokesperson for CNN would “not comment on personnel matters,” and Quadrani did not get back to us by deadline.
Quadrani joined Tapper’s show in 2013 from MSNBC and relocated from NYC to Washington, DC. He’d previously worked at “Today” from 2003 to 2009, and was at ABC’s “Good Morning America” from 1998 to 2003.
At NBC, he was known as a golden boy who colleagues referred to as Fede.
Coincidentally, he worked under Zucker at “Today” before he joined MSNBC. He then steered Tapper’s afternoon show “The Lead With Jake Tapper” for a decade until Friday.
Colleagues are shocked, we hear.
Despite Quandrani and the subordinate “both missing” from CNN’s Washington bureau on Friday, “they’re consenting adults and no one’s particularly feeling like this is some big scandal,” the second source concluded.
Quadrani’s Instagram and Twitter accounts still reflected he was exec producer of Tapper’s show as of Tuesday.
