Chris Cuomo has finally been fired from CNN after new details of his involvement with his brother’s attempt to dodge sexual misconduct allegations came to light and forced the network to finally abandon the younger Cuomo brother. Collaboration between the two Cuomo siblings had been known since Andrew Cuomo was forced to leave office but recently released documents reveal just how extensively the CNN host had been involved in the unethical scheme.
Chris Cuomo finally loses his job
CNN had been in a quandary from the beginning of the Andrew Cuomo scandal; the situation was made even worse with the revelation that Chris had been in communication with his brother’s staff.
Higher ups refused to punish him at the time, stating that they understood the importance of helping out a family member. A somewhat flimsy excuse when the family member in question faces credible sexual assault allegations.
The compromise reached was that Chris would not talk on air about the scandal or communicate directly with the governor’s staff but communication between the brothers personally on the issue would still be allowed.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who played a key role in ousting Andrew, has now ousted Chris from his CNN job with newly released documents which reveal specifics about his involvement.
Chris Cuomo acknowledged that he had been combining his broadcasting job with his personal interest in helping his embattled brother.
He admitted to investigators that he had been using his connections to journalists and sources available to him through CNN to find information which Andrew could use to undermine the accusations against him.
Brothers collaborated to cover up allegations
Released documents show that he was closely communicating with his brother’s top aide, at one point telling her that he had “a lead on the wedding girl,” referring to one of the accusers.
In another exchange the same aide informed him about another rumored accuser preparing to come forward and asked Chris Cuomo to check his sources to give Andrew a preemptive advantage.
Chris responded with “on it.” He even attempted to collaborate with his brother’s staff to write statements for the rest of the press.
The released documents clearly show that he was actively working to assist his brother in suppressing and undermining information about the governor’s behavior which the people of New York had a right to know about.
This is a very blatant violation of his supposed role as a journalist but Chris Cuomo may have felt particularly attached to his brother in his time of need given that he too has been accused of sexual harassment.
With his long overdue removal from CNN Chris can finally join his beloved brother in being a disgraced has-been. Neither Cuomo brother will be missed.
