On May 20, CNN host Chris Cuomo offered an on-air apology to his viewers for advising his older brother, Andrew Cuomo, on how to handle his sexual harassment claims by multiple women.
Chris “Fredo” Cuomo told his small CNN audience that he never helped to cover up his brother’s scandals.
The CNN host began his segment by saying, “Now today there are stories out there about me offering my brother advice,”
”Of course I do. This is no revelation. I have said it publicly, and I certainly have never hidden it. I can be objective on just about any topic but not about my family.”
“Like you, I bet, my family means everything to me, and I’m fiercely loyal to them,” he said.
The younger Cuomo added, “I’m family first, job second.”
Watch:
CNN's @ChrisCuomo apologizes: "I put my colleagues here, who I believe are the best in the business, in a bad spot. I never intended for that, I would never intent for that, and I'm sorry for that." pic.twitter.com/IeLtmcUT8g
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 21, 2021
As it turns out, Chris wasn’t exactly being honest, and both Cuomo boys could be looking for new jobs, thanks to the accused sexual predator Andrew Cuomo and his brother’s efforts to cover up his crimes.
Today, NY Attorney General Letitia James’s office released a bombshell report showing dozens of text messages between Chris Cuomo and one of his brother’s accusers, Melissa DeRosa, despite him telling investigators a different story while under oath.
The stunning NY AG report revealed that CNN host Chris Cuomo helped script the responses to sexual abuse and harassment allegations against his older brother, former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo. He also is accused of using sources to dig up dirt on his older brother’s accusers. The low-ratings cable news network, CNN, that’s frequently referred to as the “fake news network,” said they would be deciding their host Chris Cuomo’s fate in the “next several days.”
In a statement to DailyMail.com this evening, CNN said: ‘The thousands of pages of additional transcripts and exhibits that were released today by the NY Attorney General deserve a thorough review and consideration.
‘We will be having conversations and seeking additional clarity about their significance as they relate to CNN over the next several days.’
Text messages released by James’ office detailed Cuomo’s role in his brother’s public relations crisis as he told senior members of the governor’s team, ‘we are making mistakes we can’t afford.’ In one text, on March 3, he also asked DeRosa to ‘please let me help with prep’.
He also crafted at least two statements for his brother, one regarding accuser Charlotte Bennett’s claims and another on Andrew’s refusal to resign. His brother used Lines from the latter statement he provided by text.
Texts also revealed Cuomo used his connections to find out about accusers, telling DeRosa he had “a lead on the wedding girl,” in reference to Anne Ruch, who told The New York Times the governor became ‘aggressive’ toward her during a September 2019 wedding.
Other texts show that he asked another journalist for information on a story being written by Ronan Farrow for the New Yorker, which centered around accuser Lindsey Boylan – a former aide who claimed the governor had sexually harassed her for years and whose story prompted another woman to come forward.
Cuomo later told investigators that he reached out to a “non-journalistic” source while fishing for information on the wedding incident.
He also told investigators that he reached out to other journalists as the scandal exploded to learn whether other complainants might come forward.
He later elaborated to investigators that ‘the concern was that Ronan always has more people. You know, I mean, that’s part of his currency as a journalist, is that people come to him to expand understandings. I know he has his critics. But, to me, that’s when he’s at his best.
Though he admitted to researching forthcoming accusers, he vehemently denied to investigators setting out to discredit them.
‘I would never do oppo research on anybody alleging anything like this,’ he told investigators. ‘I’m not in the oppo research business. I don’t tolerate a lot of oppo research on any level.’
When asked to define ‘oppo research,’ he said: ‘the idea of trying to find ways to disparage people who come forward with allegations like this is not what I’m about.’
The text exchanges contradict Cuomo’s claims to investigators that he had ‘irregular contact’ with DeRosa. His testimony was subject to the penalty of perjury.
Pages of texts show Cuomo strategizing the former governor’s response to the allegations with DeRosa. In one exchange, he questions why one of his statements on Charlotte Bennett’s claims were not used, asking DeRosa: ‘What happened to the statement?’
He sent a follow-up message on March 1.
It read: ‘Here’s what he should have said: ‘I have carefully considered Ms. Bennett’s statement and my own conduct. I don’t dispute that our conversation was as she reports. I also do not dispute that my words and supervisory position may have created a hostile work environment. I apologize to Ms. Bennett and will promptly seek to personally communicate my apology to her. I also apologize to the people of New York State, who have a right to better conduct from their Governor. This will not happen again.”
Cuomo also sent DeRosa a later statement which his brother used lines from in responding to the allegations against him.
Chris Cuomo not only conducted oppo research, but he helped to craft his sexual predator brother’s response. So much for honesty and intergrity…
