CNN suspends Chris Cuomo indefinitely
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Chris Cuomo in 2019. Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for THR
CNN announced Tuesday evening that it has suspended anchor Chris Cuomo indefinitely following new revelations about his involvement in the management of his brother's sexual harassment scandal.
Driving the news: New documents released Monday showed that Cuomo used his contacts to garner information about the women accusing his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, of sexual harassment, as well as of emerging media coverage relating to the scandal.
What they're saying: The network said that the new documents "raise serious concerns."
- "When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother's staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly. But we can also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second."
- "However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother's efforts than we previously knew. As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation."
Catch up quick: CNN began airing regular interviews between the Cuomo brothers at the beginning of the pandemic, while Andrew Cuomo was still considered an authoritative source of health information, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.
- The interviews drew eyeballs but also questions about conflicts of interests.
- CNN eventually ended the interviews and Cuomo’s COVID-era stardom quickly faded with a scandal involving nursing home death numbers. Months later, then-Gov. Cuomo was eventually forced to resign in the wake of a separate sexual harassment scandal. Chris Cuomo was forced to stop covering the saga after he acknowledged that he had been in touch with his brother about the ordeal.
- The new documents, revealed as a part of New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation, made it clear he was not as forthcoming about his involvement with his brother’s situation as he should’ve been.
Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout.
