29 November 2021: CNN's Chris Cuomo's Role as Advisor to Andrew M. Cuomo Detailed

New details on Chris Cuomo’s role advising brother Andrew

The report relates to some of the additional transcripts of witness testimony collected by the New York State Attorney General's independent investigators that were released on 29 November 2021. The following excerpt discusses the role of the ethically troubled CNN's Prime Time broadcast presenter Chris Cuomo an a political advisor to Andrew M. Cuomo.

Chris Cuomo told investigators he spoke regularly with his brother, exchanged text messages with his top advisers and was looped in on emails in February in March as they formulated a response to allegations from multiple women.

He also offered to help try and find out through his “sources” whether more women were going to come forward, including possibly learning their identities.

That's a rather amazing journalistic conflict of interest. Not to mention a breach of professional ethics in that he would almost certainly utilize his employer's resources and organization to benefit his powerful politician brother's interests.

CNN’s Chris Cuomo snooped on Ronan Farrow’s reporting on his brother, relayed 'intel' to Andrew Cuomo aide

This report details some of Chris Cuomo's actions on behalf of his brother's political interests:

CNN’s Chris Cuomo snooped into the progress of Ronan Farrow’s reporting about his brother Andrew Cuomo and relayed it to the governor's inner circle, according to a newly released transcript of his testimony to New York state investigators in July.

Farrow, who famously won the Pulitzer Prize and helped launch the #MeToo movement with his reporting on disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, also took a deep dive into alleged sexual wrongdoing by former Gov. Cuomo, the CNN anchor'solder brother.

Chris Cuomo admitted to contacting colleagues of Farrow for updates but claimed it was simply "business-as-usual" to employ such methods. Text messages released by state investigators showed top Andrew Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa asking about "intel the CNN anchor had about Farrow's report on March 15, to which he replied it wasn't ready for publication. Farrrow's story was eventually published on March 18.

Cuomo's admission contradicts what he told CNN viewers in August when he claimed, "I never made calls to the press about my brother's situation."

This next excerpt describes his approach:

The story that CNN’s most-watched anchor then admitted he called Farrow’s colleagues to meddle in the reporting process.

"I called a fellow journalist who works with Ronan a lot. And I didn't want to contact Ronan directly. I know him. He's – he's been good to me. He's been on my show. But I didn't want to – I didn't want to push up on him like that. It's not right," Cuomo said. "I was told nothing’s coming right away."

Cuomo was asked if he told CNN he was contacting people to ask about articles being written that could damage his brother.

"No, not specifically," Cuomo said.

The attorney pressed, asking if Cuomo told CNN he was making calls on "behalf of the executive chamber or behalf of your brother to learn information" and whether that was out of the ordinary, but the CNN host claimed he didn’t see it that way.

"There was going to be an article about my brother. So I'm interested. 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," Cuomo said. "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. So the idea of one reporter calling another to find out about what's coming down the pipe is completely business-as-usual."

No, not even close. It would be business-as-usual for a member of a sitting governor's public relations staff to engage in such an activity. By all appearances, Chris Cuomo utilized his professional contacts as a journalist employed by a news gathering organization to gather news that would benefit his brother's political interests.

But wait, there's more inappropriate journalistic conduct:

Documents show CNN's Cuomo asking top aide: 'Please let me help' defend brother Andrew

Let's just go straight to the excerpt for this report:

CNN host Chris Cuomo asked a top aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), his brother, to let him assist the team crafting the governor's response to allegations of inappropriate conduct made against the Democrat late last year.

"Please let me help with the prep," Cuomo wrote to Melissa DeRosa, a top advisor to the governor in a text message on March 3.

In another message, DeRosa wrote to Cuomo about a "Rumor going around from politico 1-2 more ppl coming out tomorrow," in reference to more accusers coming forward against Andrew Cuomo, asking the primetime anchor to check on them with his "sources."

"No one has heard that yet," Cuomo responded.

Days later, Cuomo sent DeRosa to consider having the governor deliver another statement. It read, in part, "I understand why they have to say what they are saying. 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."

Who do you suppose Cuomo means when he said "No one has heard that yet"? Does that mean any of his journalist colleagues at CNN? How would they feel about having a status report of their work product shared with Andrew M. Cuomo's political team?

See how potentially bad for Chris Cuomo this is? As in journalism career-ending bad?