A transcript of an interview with the younger Cuomo showed that at one point the TV host texted Melissa DeRosa, his brother’s top aide, to say “I have a lead on the wedding girl”. It was a reference to Anna Ruch, a woman who accused Andrew Cuomo of attempting to kiss her at a wedding.

Chris Cuomo told investigators a “source” told him about Ruch and a friend told him that “maybe she had been put up to it”.

The broadcaster also used his contacts to warn his brother, via DeRosa, of yet-to-be-published media reports regarding allegations against him.

“I would – when asked, I would reach out to sources, other journalists, to see if they had heard of anybody else coming out,” Cuomo told investigators.

Chris Cuomo has acknowledged that he advised his brother on how to respond to a scandal that engulfed his administration, but the extent of his involvement has only now become clear.