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The younger Cuomo, who previously acknowledged his role in helping his brother navigate through the scandal, reportedly used his media sources and sway in an effort to undermine the Attorney General’s investigation into the claims and get out ahead of the scandal
New documents released by the AG’s Office found that Chris Cuomo was actively in touch with the governor’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa regarding incoming media reports depicting the harassment claims as they were released publicly, while lobbying to join the team defending Cuomo prior to his resignation.
“I would – when asked, I would reach out to sources, other journalists, to see if they had heard of anybody else coming out,” Cuomo told James’ independent investigators.
“And so you heard from someone some information about (accuser) Anna Ruch. Who is the person you heard information from?” the investigators asked Chris Cuomo, according to the transcript.
“A source,” he replied.
It is also alleged that Chris Cuomo used his sources to help track down some of the governor’s accusers, and to ascertain details of stories before they were published by other media outlets.
“There was going to be an article about my brother. So I'm interested,” he said. "I wasn't going to call the person writing it. I wasn't going to try to influence any of the stories. And we know that that's true because you would have read about it had I. It's not exactly a loyalty-based business.
”If I had tried to influence any of the reporting at CNN or anywhere else, I guarantee you people would know, and so would a lot of others,” Cuomo continued. “So the idea of one reporter calling another to find out about what's coming down the pipe is completely business-as-usual."
When the accusations first started rolling in, it was also determined that Chris Cuomo wrote an entire statement for the governor, which was later used during a COVID-19 briefing.
“I will not resign, I cannot resign,” the texted statement reads. “I understand the political pressure I understand the stakes of political warfare, and that’s what this is… And I understand the conformity that can be forced by cancel culture,” it states.
CNN President Jeff Zucker previously said the anchor “made a mistake” in advising his brother but did not punish him, saying such an action would be "punishment for the sake of punishing.”
Neither Zucker nor CNN has issued a comment yet following the latest claims against the late-night host.
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