CNN Suspends Chris Cuomo Indefinitely Over 'Greater Level Of Involvement' In Brother's Scandal

CNN suspended primetime anchor Chris Cuomo indefinitely Tuesday following the release of documents by the New York attorney general’s office indicating that he had a “greater level of involvement” in disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s efforts to respond to sexual harassment charges.

In a statement, CNN said the documents released by the New York attorney general’s office “which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions.” The media company added that the documents “point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew. As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James released transcripts and text messages Monday revealing how Chris Cuomo offered to approach “sources” to determine whether there were other women who would come forward in relation to sexual harassment allegations against his brother.

The documents revealed that Chris Cuomo relayed the information he heard to Andrew Cuomo’s advisers, the Associated Press reported. The documents unveiled how Chris Cuomo strategized with Andrew Cuomo’s aides, insisting that it was better to come out with an apologetic tone, according to the report.

The New York attorney general’s exhibits revealed that Chris Cuomo admitted to investigators about his regular conversations with Andrew Cuomo on how he should respond to the allegations. While Chris Cuomo previously acknowledged his “mistake” to act as an unofficial adviser to Andrew Cuomo, Monday’s documents looked deeper into nearly 170 pages of text messages, emails and other means of communications about the TV host’s involvement in strategizing about how his brother should respond to the scandal.

Hours before CNN announced the suspension, Charlotte Bennett, who is among the multiple women who accused the ex-governor of sexual harassment, said: "Anything short of firing Chris Cuomo reflects a network lacking both morals and a backbone."

Ex-president Donald Trump commented on the indefinite suspension, stating that it was “great news for television viewers,” Business Insider reported. Trump went on to ask whether the suspension was “because of his horrendous ratings, which in all fairness have permeated CNN and MSDNC (a reference to MSNBC) or was it because his brother is no longer governor?”

The former president went on to refer to Chris Cuomo as “Fredo,” which is a character from “The Godfather” described by many viewers and critics as “weak.” “In any event, Fredo is gone!” he said.

Trump previously said that “it’s about time he resigned” after Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace in August amid sexual harassment allegations from a former aide. “To tell you the truth, this guy is a TOTAL LOSER, and New York, as well as the entire Country, is better off without him,” Trump said at that time.

A criminal complaint was filed against the ex-governor in October when it was stated that Andrew Cuomo “did intentionally” grope his victim. A lawyer representing Brittany Commisso, a former aide to the New York governor’s office, confirmed that Commisso was the alleged victim whose name was redacted from the complaint. Andrew Cuomo has maintained his innocence.