5 December 2021: What Are the "New Allegations" Involving Chris Cuomo?

CNN Fires Chris Cuomo After New Details on Help He Gave His Brother

Although nearly all of the Cuomo-related scandals have occurred in its proverbial backyard, the New York Times has largely been missing in action when it comes to breaking serious news about them. Except for stories related to sexual harassment, which the newspaper prizes and prioritizes above all others.

That's why the following blurb caught our attention when the Grey Lady reported on the firing of the hapless and ethically-challenged Chris Cuomo, which provides the first reporting on what "new allegations" contributed to his dismissal from CNN.

On Wednesday, Debra S. Katz, a prominent employment lawyer, informed CNN of a client with an allegation of sexual misconduct against Chris Cuomo. Ms. Katz said in a statement on Saturday that the allegation against the anchor, which was made by a former junior colleague at another network, was “unrelated to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo matter.”

It was not fully clear what role the allegation played in CNN’s decision to dismiss Mr. Cuomo. Ms. Katz is also the lawyer for Charlotte Bennett, a onetime aide to Andrew Cuomo who accused the former governor in February of sexual harassment.

Asked about the new allegation, a CNN spokeswoman said in a statement on Saturday night: “Based on the report we received regarding Chris’s conduct with his brother’s defense, we had cause to terminate. When new allegations came to us this week, we took them seriously, and saw no reason to delay taking immediate action.”...

Ms. Katz said that her client “came forward because she was disgusted by Chris Cuomo’s on-air statements in response to the allegations made against his brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo.” Ms. Katz cited a March 1 broadcast in which Chris Cuomo said: “I have always cared very deeply about these issues, and profoundly so. I just wanted to tell you that.”

For his part, Chris Cuomo denied the allegation through his public relations spokesman:

Chris Cuomo Spokesman Refutes 'Anonymous' Allegations After CNN Firing

Here is what Cuomo's spokesman, Steven Goldberg, is reported to have told the New York Times.

"These apparently anonymous allegations are not true," the spokesperson said, according to The New York Times. "To the extent that they were sent to CNN to negate what Chris Cuomo told his audience, he fully stands by his on-air statements about his connections to these issues, both professionally and in a profound personal way. If the goal in making these false and unvetted accusations was to see Mr. Cuomo punished by CNN, that may explain his unwarranted termination."

We're relying on Newsweek's coverage for this portion of the story because the New York Times only referenced the first sentence of the spokesman's statement in its coverage.

Finally, CNN's on-air spokesman issued a statement:

CNN's Brian Stelter on Chris Cuomo firing: He caused 'so many headaches' for CNN, staffers were 'very unhappy'

The following statement is significant because Stelter had previously indicated Cuomo's "indefinite suspension" could end with Cuomo returning to CNN's airwaves in January 2022:

"Chris Cuomo, one of the most popular anchors at CNN, one of the best-known names in television news, violated journalistic ethics and norms not once or twice, but many times and that’s ultimately what is the result of today’s news, Jim," Stelter told CNN weekend anchor Jim Acosta. "What we didn’t know until tonight, Jim, is that an outside law firm came in and went through the thousands of pages of text messages and sworn testimony that was released back on Monday. So there was clearly something in those documents that was found to be a serious breach of standards and practices."

The "Reliable Sources" host dinged Cuomo for "acting like an unpaid staffer" for his brother based on the documents released by the AG despite how "it was known months ago" that the anchor was helping the governor.

Stelter told Acosta he has "no answers" as to the "additional information" CNN had learned as part of its investigation and when it would ever be made public.

"I think this may be a situation where it was death by a thousand cuts, where there were just so many headaches time and time again involving Chris Cuomo that even though many viewers loved ‘Cuomo Prime Time,’ looked forward to his show, he was causing so many headaches for the network and for CNN staffers that ultimately this decision was reached," Stelter said. "I do think, you know, this is a moment where journalistic ethics are at play. I know there were many CNN staffers very unhappy with the situation, very frustrated by Chris Cuomo. At the same time, Jim, I was hearing from some fans of Chris, some viewers who said we understood he was looking out for his family."

"This was always a very complicated situation. But I think the text messages and the documents this week, showing very deeply involved, very cozy with the governor's office, very improperly working with the aides, that was ultimately why this was announced tonight," Stelter added.

This marked a sharply different tone from CNN's media correspondent, who previously defended Cuomo and downplayed the journalistic ethics violations.

We stand by our assessment that the conflict of interest issues go far beyond Cuomo at CNN, where more heads need to roll as part of a full housecleaning at the news network to repair its damaged journalistic reputation. We think Stelter's ouster will be required as part of that much needed housecleaning.

But now that Cuomo's been fired, what will Cuomo do? The next report indicates Cuomo feels he was betrayed by CNN after having been given so much leeway:

Cuomo ‘Livid’ After Shock Firing by CNN

This report is from the Daily Beast.

Cuomo is “livid” at his termination and in talks with lawyers, a person familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast.

The Daily Beast didn't provide any information on what steps Cuomo might take against CNN beyond that in its report on Cuomo's firing. They did however include this following excerpt as part of their original reporting:

A source familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast the relationship between the cable network and the host became unsustainable for the long term, as it was problem after problem with Cuomo. In light of the falling out, Cuomo has retained public relations expert Ronn Torossian.

One CNN insider told The Daily Beast, “Finally. Chris was a toxic and distracting presence. The network did the right thing.”

How long do you suppose before the younger Cuomo goes onto Andrew M. Cuomo's campaign payroll? It occurs to us that giving family members "jobs" in the campaign organization would be one way to transfer a good part of the $18+ million it has it its bank account to the bank accounts of insiders like Chris Cuomo. That's money that could pay for a lot of legal bills.