Jeff Zucker paid $5 million bonus in CNN exit deal: report

Former CNN president Jeff Zucker was paid a $5 million bonus in his exit deal after his resignation, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The payout was part of a deal between the two parties finalized before Zucker announced his resignation last month, the report said.

The initial agreement also included a non-disclosure agreement for Zucker, which prevented him from discussing the reason for his exit from the company beyond a mutually agreed-upon statement, according to the Journal. 

Zucker formally announced his resignation from CNN last month after an internal investigation found that he failed to disclose a consensual relationship with his colleague Allison Gollust, CNN’s chief marketing officer and official spokesperson. 

CNN parent company WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar conducted its internal investigation, and found that Zucker, Gollust and former network anchor Chris Cuomo violated company policies.

CNN fired Cuomo last December after it determined he had helped strategize how his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, should deal with sexual harassment allegations. 

Gollust did not resign when Zucker resigned, or when their relationship became public, but did depart CNN later in February.

Chris Licht, a former MSNBC and CBS producer, was selected last week to replace Zucker. 

The Hill has reached out to CNN for comment. 

This story was updated at 7:08 p.m.