CNN suspends host Chris Cuomo over defence of his brother
Anchor broke network rules by helping former New York governor Andrew Cuomo in sex scandal response
Chris Cuomo apologised to viewers in May for advising his brother, calling it ‘a mistake’ © Mike Blake/Reuters
Anna Nicolaou in New York and Christopher Grimes in Los Angeles AN HOUR AGO
Receive free CNN News Group updates
We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest CNN News Group news every morning.
CNN has suspended star news host Chris Cuomo “indefinitely” after New York’s attorney-general released transcripts showing that he was far more involved in the defence of his brother, the embattled former state governor, than had previously been known.
Andrew Cuomo was forced to resign in August after Letitia James, New York attorney-general, found that he had violated state and federal law by sexually harassing 11 women.
CNN, the television news network owned by AT&T, said Chris Cuomo had admitted that he broke the network’s rules when he offered advice to his brother’s staff.
But the documents released by James’ office on Monday showed a much deeper level of involvement than had been previously known, the network said.
“The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions,” CNN said. “As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.”
The documents provided a fresh headache for CNN over its anchor’s relationship with his brother. After becoming a national political hero during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Andrew Cuomo suffered a number of allegations that ultimately led to his resignation.
After Andrew Cuomo’s downfall, New York reconsiders its political bullies
As more women came forward with accusations against Andrew Cuomo, his brother did not cover the news on his show. However, he did provide counsel to senior aides on how to handle the crisis and tried to find out what stories rival news outlets were working on, raising questions about CNN’s journalistic standards.
Anderson Cooper will take Chris Cuomo’s primetime 9pm slot on Tuesday evening.
Chris Cuomo apologised to viewers in May for advising his brother. “I understand why that was a problem for CNN . . . it was a mistake,” he said. “I can be objective about just about any topic, but not about my family.”
The predicament comes as CNN is preparing for a change in ownership. AT&T, the Texas telecommunications group, agreed this year to sell its WarnerMedia subsidiary, which includes CNN, to Discovery. The deal is awaiting regulatory approval.
David Zaslav, the Discovery chief who will preside over CNN if the deal is approved, visited the network’s headquarters on Tuesday for a pre-scheduled meeting with top executives, according to people familiar with the matter.
Comments
Post a Comment