CNN’s Chris Cuomo was still actively advising his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, despite ethical concerns about the conflict of interest this creates for his show, according to a report from the Washington Post.
The Post stated that Andrew Cuomo—who announced his resignation on Tuesday—had been holed up in the governor’s mansion in Albany for the past several days trying to figure out how to respond to the statewide report about his sexual misconduct in office.
It also noted that the two people who have been advising him are Charlie King, a lobbyist at the public strategy firm Mercury, “as well as his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, according to people familiar with the situation.”
Chris Cuomo came under fire earlier this summer after it was reported that he took part in a series of conference calls with his brother and several of his top aides and lawyers to come up with a public relations strategy following a series of sexual harassment allegations.
CNN admitted it was “inappropriate” for Cuomo to have participated in these meetings, and the anchor himself claimed he would not advise his brother regarding this matter again.
“I understand why that was a problem for CNN,” Chris Cuomo said on May 20 during an on-air apology.
“It will not happen again,” he continued. “It was a mistake because I put my colleagues here, who I believe are the best in the business, in a bad spot. I never intended for that. I would never intend for that, and I am sorry for that.”
In his resignation announcement Tuesday, Andrew Cuomo said he would step down from office in 14 days.
For months, he had defiantly refused to leave, insisting he did nothing wrong. However, as New York legislators ramped up their efforts to impeach him and many of his closest advisers jumped ship, it must have become clear to the Democrat that his attempts to stick it out were futile.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will assume the governor’s seat, becoming the first woman to govern New York.
