An Op-Ed on Chris Cuomo’s Suspension

Special to VINNEWS

CNN has suspended former disgraced governor Andrew Cuomo’s brother “indefinitely, pending further evaluation.”   Prime time anchor Chris Cuomo was suspended after new documents have revealed very serious improprieties in the nature of his relationship with aides to the former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The reason for his suspension is that he was much more involved in helping create the messages defending his brother.

But the truth is that there is an even more important reason that Chris Cuomo should be suspended – or rather –  fired.

The reason is that he, like his brother engaged in sexual harassment.  In an op-ed published by the New York Times way back in September, Shelley Ross writes how he had sexually harassed her.  And Shelley Ross was his former boss at ABC News.  She even published proof to it.

All this has been swept under the rug.

CNN should be called to account for this.  Their star anchor is no different than the disgraced governor.  They knew about it and it took over two months to suspend him.

There is something very rotten in the media.  And instead of mentioning any of this, CNN reports that “Anderson Cooper 360” will air instead of Cuomo’s show on Tuesday night.

CNN further stated  “The New York Attorney General’s office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo’s involvement in his brother’s defense,” a CNN spokesperson said Tuesday evening. “The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions.”

“When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly,” the spokesperson continued. “But we 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,” the spokesperson added. “As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.”

The suspension came after significant criticism from people who noted that Chris Cuomo had violated widely accepted journalistic norms. Inside CNN, staffers expressed dismay about the anchor’s conduct. Charlotte Bennett, a former aide to Andrew Cuomo who came forward in February to accuse him of sexual harassment, called for CNN to “immediately take action.”

“Anything short of firing Chris Cuomo reflects a network lacking both morals and a backbone,” Bennett said in a tweet Tuesday.

The “Cuomo Prime Time” team had been planning for Tuesday’s broadcast up until the announcement of Chris Cuomo’s suspension, a person familiar with the matter said. Cooper’s team was also blindsided by the news and left scrambling to fill the extra hour.

After the news was made public, an emotional Chris Cuomo met with the show’s staff.

The documents released by New York Attorney General Letitia James included text messages and transcripts of interviews with investigators who led the probe into allegations against the governor.

The cache of documents included text messages between Chris Cuomo and Melissa DeRosa, a then-top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, that suggested he was instrumental in working to craft a defense against a flood of sexual misconduct allegations.

The text messages also revealed that Chris Cuomo sought to use his connections in the press to help prepare the then-governor’s team as accusers started to make their stories public.

The facts are that “predator Andrew Cuomo” was the lead politician in New York State, and “predator Chris Cuomo” was the lead anchor at CNN.  He should be fired immediately and CNN should admit fault and error.