CNN’s Chris Cuomo declined on Monday night to mention the bombshell documents released earlier in the day, detailing the anchor’s role in defending his scandal-ridden brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The newly revealed trove of text messages and investigative interview transcripts were made public Monday by New York Attorney General Letitia James and may have put Cuomo’s $6 million-per-year job in jeopardy.
CNN released a statement on late Monday afternoon saying that would be reviewing the documents in the coming days.
“The thousands of pages of additional transcripts and exhibits that were released today by the NY Attorney General deserve a thorough review and consideration,” the statement said. “We will be having conversations and seeking additional clarity about their significance as they relate to CNN over the next several days.”
In the meantime, Cuomo persisted through his program Monday night without addressing the controversy. He spent most of Monday’s program providing updates on the omicron variant of the coronavirus, the feud between Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and the recent phenomenon of smash-and-grab robberies spreading across the country.
Dozens of text messages show Chris Cuomo and Melissa DeRosa, then Andrew Cuomo’s top aide, discussing how to respond to the mounting allegations and his brother’s accusers.
The documents also show the younger Cuomo on March 1 critiqued a statement his brother issued a day earlier and sent DeRosa what he thought should have been the response to harassment allegations by former aide Charlotte Bennett.