CNN admits Chris Cuomo inappropriately gave brother Andrew advice on sexual harassment scandal
CNN won't discipline the anchor, who participated in strategy sessions advising the New York governor not to resign over harassment charges.
The stunning revelation that CNN star Chris Cuomo advised his brother, Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, amid the growing sexual misconduct allegations was blasted by one CNN insider.
As first reported by The Washington Post, CNN admitted on Thursday that its primetime host engaged in "inappropriate" strategy meetings with the embattled governor's team earlier this year as he faced multiple accusations of sexual harassment and unwanted touching.
The CNN insider took aim at the anchor for allegedly invoking "cancel culture" while urging his brother to stay firm in combatting the misconduct claims.
"To say it’s ‘cancel culture’ - it's despicable," the insider told Fox News.
The CNN insider slammed what was perceived as a double standard of the "Cuomo Prime Time" anchor to avoid covering his scandals in recent months after inviting the governor onto his show as a hero of the coronavirus pandemic.
"It's the height of hypocrisy for Chris to have [his brother] on there for the good news but doesn’t have him on to discuss the bad news," the insider said. "It's laughable for him to be so judgmental of other people for their wrongdoings and he’s sitting there enabling and coming up with excuses for someone with sexual misconduct allegations."
CNN ADMITS CHRIS CUOMO INAPPROPRIATELY PROVIDED BROTHER ADVICE ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT SCANDAL
The insider also mocked the network's response to the controversy when it told the Post that it was "inappropriate" of the anchor to engage in such a way with the governor's team.
"That's an understatement," the CNNer scoffed.
Chris Cuomo did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
The stunning Washington Post report revealed the CNN anchor joined conference calls with top aides to the embattled governor earlier this year as charges of harassment mounted and prompted calls from both sides of the aisle for his resignation. Sources told the paper the younger Cuomo urged his brother to not step down.
CNN acknowledged Chris Cuomo's involvement but said he would not be disciplined for his conduct.
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"Chris has not been involved in CNN’s extensive coverage of the allegations against Governor Cuomo - on air or behind the scenes. In part because, as he has said on his show, he could never be objective. But also because he often serves as a sounding board for his brother," CNN said in a statement to Fox News. "However, 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."
The behind-the-scenes strategy "cuts against the widely accepted norm in journalism that those reporting the news should not be involved in politics," the Post reported.
Fox News' David Rutz contributed to this report.