New emails have surfaced revealing how Chris Cuomo, former CNN’s star anchor, also worked in parallel with his brother Andrew Cuomo, advising him in crises on how to evade the media.
Emails show Chris Cuomo and the then-governor’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, working alone on a draft of a statement Andrew Cuomo would give to the press in response to harassment allegations.
The writings also show Chris Cuomo discussing how best to attack New York Times reports that revealed that the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes was much higher than the governor had said.
Chris Cuomo was fired from CNN last November after it came to light that the journalist used his sources to favor his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Now new emails have come to light that show how involved he was with the former governor’s administration.
The emails show him crafting political messages pushing back against Charlotte Bennett, a former aide to Andrew Cuomo who said the governor sexually harassed her. They also show him strategizing about how the governor should respond to the nursing home scandal.
The emails were obtained by a New York Post reporter who requested them from the governor’s office using Muckrock, an open-source journalism platform, in a way that made them public.
What do the emails say?
The first emails date from the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 17, 2020, DeRosa, who was the governor’s top aide, sent a message to Chris Cuomo offering him a VIP deal to help him get out of COVID-19.
Another email is from Feb. 27, 2021, when DeRosa sent Chris Cuomo a set of “privileged and confidential” notes detailing a conversation between the governor’s agent Peter Ajemian, his attorney Beth Garvey and a New York Times reporter, prior to the publication of the story in which Bennett accused Andrew Cuomo of sexually harassing her. There was later an exchange of drafts in which Chris Cuomo made some edits sending a “final statement.”
Other emails show how Chris sent tips on how to attack the New York Times after the media outlet reported on the high numbers of deceased seniors in nursing homes in the state.
On March 10, 2021, Times reporter Luis Ferré-Sadurní asked for comment before publishing a story with the headline “For Some Women, Working for Cuomo is the Worst Place to Be.” The governor’s team sent out an email asking for advice on how to respond and among the recipients was Chris Cuomo, who was still working for CNN.
What triggered the Chris Cuomo scandals?
Text messages released by state prosecutors showed that Andrew Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, previously learned of stories that ran in outlets like The New Yorker, thanks to Chris Cuomo revealing details to her.
The prosecutors’ revelation contradicts the news anchor who in August 2021 claimed, “I never called the press about my brother’s situation.”
Cuomo remained on screen until November 30 despite dozens of allegations involving him such as receiving COVID-19 priority evidence; advising his brother to avoid the press in the face of sexual harassment allegations; and the sexual harassment scandal that the anchorman himself admitted.
Chris Cuomo was accused of sexual harassment by veteran television news producer Shelley Ross, who claimed that he groped her backside in 2005 when they were both working at ABC News. Chris Cuomo admitted what happened, but CNN never mentioned that fact.
Sabrina Martín Rondon is a Venezuelan journalist. Her source is politics and economics. She is a specialist in corporate communications and is committed to the task of dismantling the supposed benefits of socialism // Sabrina Martín Rondon es periodista venezolana. Su fuente es la política y economía. Es especialista en comunicaciones corporativas y se ha comprometido con la tarea de desmontar las supuestas bondades del socialismo