Chris Cuomo Reportedly Advised Brother Governor Andrew Cuomo To Resign Following Sexual Harassment Report
Chris Cuomo reportedly advised his brother Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign in light of a recent report that claimed that the politician sexually harassed several women.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday, August 10, that while the 51-year-old was not on CNN this week because he is on a planned vacation to celebrate his birthday, he had phone calls with his older brother. Chris allegedly felt that Andrew cannot survive the fallout after losing allies and support in the Democratic establishment, according to two sources.
The reporter's CNN colleague Brian Stelter appeared on Stephen Colbert's The Late Show on CBS, where he said that he had a source tell him that Chris was having phone calls with his brother on the matter, but Colbert cut in to ask if Chris was the source. "He is not. You gotta have boundaries, you gotta draw a line," Stelter replied, to which Colbert responded with "Why? He doesn't."
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for CNN told the New York Post that conversations between Chris and Andrew did not go against any policies. "As both CNN and Chris have stated publicly, he cannot cover his brother, in part because we certainly expect them to speak. He’s not joined any meetings nor acted in any official capacity since he apologized for doing so," a representative told the outlet. "That’s our expectation as we’ve said all along."
On Tuesday, August 10, the 63-year-old announced that he will formally leave office in two weeks' time to "let the government get back to governing." The older Cuomo said "I deeply, deeply apologize," but still said that the allegations against him are false.
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"In my mind, I've never crossed a line with anyone, but I didn't realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn," he said. "There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn't fully appreciate, and I should have. No excuses."
The report by Attorney General Letitia James claimed that the New York governor had sexually harassed 11 women, nine of which are current or former state employees — and that in doing so, he violated state and federal laws.
Meanwhile, Chris was in the hot seat earlier this year when he reportedly advised his brother and helped draft previous statements made about the sexual harassment allegations. "I understand why that was a problem for CNN. It will not happen again," Chris said during an on-air apology. He said he was sorry for putting his co-workers in a "bad spot."
Chris was also slammed for not covering the report on Andrew, with calls being made for him to be axed from CNN, as previously reported by OK!.
There is a rule which prevents Chris from interviewing his brother and covering stories about him. An exception was made during the coronavirus pandemic when they spoke on-air together but CNN said in a previous statement that the "rule remains in place today" and that they have "covered the news surrounding Governor Cuomo extensively" when Andrew was criticized for how the reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes was handled.
