CNN cannot reasonably justify keeping host Chris Cuomo on the air.
Yet, the left-wing cable network is leaving him right where he is, even after today.
“CNN anchor Chris Cuomo advised his brother, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and senior members of the governor’s staff on how to respond to sexual harassment allegations made earlier this year by women who had worked with the governor,” the Washington Post reports, citing “four people familiar with the discussions.”
The report adds, “Cuomo, one of the network’s top stars, joined a series of conference calls that included the Democratic governor’s top aide, his communications team, lawyers and a number of outside advisers.”
The CNN anchor on Thursday issued a faux apology to his viewers and colleagues.
“Like you,” Cuomo said, “my family means everything to me. And I am fiercely loyal to them. I am family first, job second.”
He continued, calling his actions “a mistake, because I put my colleagues here, who I believe are the best in the business, in a bad spot.”
“This is a unique and difficult situation, and that’s OK,” Cuomo concluded. “I know where the line is. I can respect it and still be there for my family, which I must. I have to do that. I love my brother, I love my family, I love my job. And I love and respect my colleagues here at CNN. And again, to them, I am truly sorry.”
At any reputable newsroom, Cuomo would be fired or, at the very least, suspended by now for this obvious breach of ethics. But CNN is not exactly reputable these days. It’s going to do exactly nothing about its anchor’s malfeasance.
“It was inappropriate to engage in conversations that included members of the Governor’s staff, which Chris acknowledges. He will not participate in such conversations going forward,” CNN said in a statement, adding it has no plan to discipline its employee.
Gov. Cuomo, meanwhile, is still being investigated over allegations he inappropriately touched and made sexually suggestive remarks to at least seven women. The governor has both apologized and denied any wrongdoing.
During the governor’s crisis management calls, the Washington Post reports, Chris Cuomo “encouraged his brother to take a defiant position and not to resign from the governor’s office, the people said. At one point, he used the phrase ‘cancel culture’ as a reason to hold firm in the face of the allegations.”
That answers that.
When Gov. Cuomo claimed in March he is the victim of “cancel culture,” the moment stuck out for its uncharacteristic stupidity. For all his faults, Cuomo is not a complete idiot. His little brother, however, is infamously dimwitted. So, it makes sense the fantastically smooth-brained “cancel culture” defense came from the CNN host and not the governor himself. Then again, that Andrew Cuomo took his idiot kid brother’s advice suggests the governor may be closer to his brother in intelligence than originally presumed.
All that aside, the most damning thing about Chris Cuomo privately running crisis management for his older brother is the fact that the cable anchor issued an on-air statement in March recusing himself from covering the sexual harassment scandal.
“Obviously,” Cuomo told his viewers, “I am aware of what is going on with my brother. And obviously, I cannot cover it because he is my brother.”
This would be acceptable, standard even, were it not for the fact Cuomo allowed his brother to use his prime-time program last year as an unofficial public relations arm of the governor’s office. And because CNN let Chris Cuomo use its airwaves to serve his personal interests, hosting his big brother for a half-dozen glow-up interviews wherein the host praised the governor as the savior of the pandemic, the network should now require that he cover his family’s scandals. It’s only fair.
Cuomo certainly can’t ethically recuse himself from reporting on the sexual harassment allegations while also quietly serving on his brother’s crisis management team. It’s clearly dishonest to play it both ways, especially after all the airtime CNN gave Cuomo to promote his big brother.
If it were just the phone calls, it’d be enough. But this isn’t even his first strike. It’s just one of many, and CNN has no plans to do anything about it.
As mentioned, it was unethical for Chris Cuomo to use his show to promote his brother as the hero of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a clear conflict of interest for a supposed newsman to promote a family member’s political career.
The Cuomo interviews were then made so much worse than they initially appeared after it was revealed Chris Cuomo received preferential treatment from state healthcare officials thanks to a secretive “friends and family” plan spearheaded by the governor. Health officials were ordered to drive as many as 90 miles away from their areas of assignment to administer tests to Chris Cuomo and his family personally.
Naturally, the CNN host didn’t breathe a word of the preferential treatment on-air. It was just another Cuomo scheme he withheld from news audiences.
Asked at the time how CNN planned to address the fact its host benefited personally from his political connections while rewarding said political connections with glowing coverage, the left-wing network claimed it generally does “not get involved in the medical decisions of our employees.”
What a crock.
Cuomo used his program last year to regale viewers with tales of his alleged battle with COVID-19, including that ridiculous stunt during which he pretended to emerge from his basement for the first time since contracting the virus (residents of East Hampton, New York, are amused). CNN clearly had no problem with one of its employees divulging details of his medical decisions on-air, so its defense of the Cuomo kickback episode rings hollow.
Now, after all that, we learn Chris Cuomo has been serving as an unofficial strategist for the governor, running defense for the very thing the anchor refuses to discuss on-air.
Nice system you got there, governor.
Gov. Cuomo gets to appear on CNN to tout his supposed pandemic victories while his brother smothers his scandals, and Chris Cuomo receives personalized, expedited COVID-19 tests and treatment, even before healthcare workers.
The story of Chris Cuomo’s misconduct, and CNN’s refusal to take even basic disciplinary action, is a story of power and money.
Anyone else lower on the food chain would be cleaning out his desk at this very moment. But Cuomo shares a last name with the New York governor, so basic ethics clearly don’t apply to him.
Moreover, CNN has made a significant financial investment in Cuomo’s success. He just renewed his contract with the network, which is worth many millions of dollars per year, he has decent ratings, and the network doesn’t have a clear replacement lined up. CNN also likely wants to avoid the headache of paying Cuomo to leave. So, it has made the financial calculation to let him run free, even though he’s doing irreparable reputational harm to its brand.
Long-term damage for short-term financial savings.
A CNN spokesman did not return the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
