CBS News Fires Political Director Over 'Inappropriate Behavior'

Steve Chaggaris oversaw coverage of Donald Trump's campaign and White House.
Steve Chaggaris had worked on and off at CBS since 1999.
Steve Chaggaris had worked on and off at CBS since 1999.
Chris Maddaloni via Getty Images

CBS News fired political director Steve Chaggaris on Wednesday after allegations of what the network called “inappropriate behavior.”

CBS News staffers were informed of Chaggaris’ firing on Wednesday evening, according to CNN. The veteran journalist was named political director in March 2017 and oversaw coverage of Donald Trump’s administration. He joined CBS News in 1999 and, after leaving briefly in 2010, was rehired in 2012.

“In the last two weeks, accounts of inappropriate behavior by Steve Chaggaris were brought to our attention and were immediately investigated,” a CBS spokesperson said in a statement to HuffPost. “As a result, CBS News has severed ties with Mr. Chaggaris for violating company policy, effective immediately.”

CBS, in its own report of Chaggaris’ ouster, reiterated the importance of staffers speaking up about workplace sexual harassment.

“In light of recent highly publicized harassment cases, CBS and other big media companies told staffers how important it is to report instances of all types of improper behavior to human resources or managers,” the network said in its report.

Chaggaris couldn’t be reached for comment, and his Twitter handle was recently deleted.

The firing comes six weeks after Charlie Rose, PBS host and co-anchor of “CBS This Morning,” was fired after accusations of sexual harassment and groping. Other prominent men in media ― including former “Today” show co-host Matt Lauer and MSNBC senior political analyst Mark Halperin ― have recently been fired amid the wave of women speaking up in the #MeToo movement.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the year Chaggaris became CBS’s political director. He took the role in 2017.

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