{"id":610580,"date":"2021-08-04T06:51:27","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T10:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=610580"},"modified":"2021-08-04T06:51:29","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T10:51:29","slug":"cnn-plunged-into-conflict-of-interest-over-cuomo-sexual-harassment-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-plunged-into-conflict-of-interest-over-cuomo-sexual-harassment-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"CNN Plunged Into Conflict of Interest Over Cuomo Sexual Harassment Probe"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcnn-plunged-into-conflict-of-interest-over-cuomo-sexual-harassment-probe%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=610580&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Chris-Cuomo.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>As the New York Attorney General\u2019s office accuses Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexually harassing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/completely-violated-cuomo-accusers-detail-sexual-advances-retaliation-in-extensive-ag-report-interviews\">11 women<\/a>, CNN finds itself mired in an ethical quagmire, as the report states the network\u2019s most popular host enabled the governor\u2019s behavior and did not \u201cbelieve all women.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>CNN\u2019s Chris Cuomo received \u201cconfidential and often privileged information\u201d about some of the women charging his brother with sexual harassment, \u201clooked to protect\u201d the governor, and \u201cfound ways not to believe\u201d his accusers, according to a report from Attorney General Letitia James.<\/p>\n<p>The AG\u2019s report also reproduces a text message from one of the governor\u2019s alleged victims complaining about CNN\u2019s pro-Cuomo coverage.<\/p>\n<p>In May, The Washington Post broke the news that the host of \u201cCuomo Prime Time\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/chris-cuomo-advised-andrew-cuomo-on-sexual-harassment-allegations-cnn-wont-punish-him\">advised his older brother<\/a> how to handle the burgeoning cases of sexual impropriety. At the time, the network said his behavior was inappropriate but would not happen again.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Cuomo and many others who devised the governor\u2019s crisis response strategy \u201cwere not State employees at all,\u201d the AG report states. &nbsp;\u201cNone of them was officially retained in any capacity by the Executive Chamber or any of the individuals involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNonetheless, they were regularly provided with confidential and often privileged information about state operations and helped make decisions that impacted State business and employees \u2014 all without any formal role, duty, or obligation to the State,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n<p>The report goes on to note how Andrew Cuomo \u201cactively engaged in an effort to discredit her, including by disseminating to the press confidential internal documents that painted her in a negative light.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the governor\u2019s \u201cadvisors, including [Global Strategy Group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalstrategygroup.com\/news\/11393\/\">founder<\/a> Jeffrey] Pollock and Chris Cuomo, counseled him to express contrition after the press published Ms. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/i-do-it-with-everyone-andrew-cuomo-defends-himself-at-press-conference-refuses-to-resign\">Charlotte] Bennett\u2019s allegations<\/a>,\u201d at least in public, it <a href=\"https:\/\/ag.ny.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2021.08.03_nyag_-_investigative_report.pdf\">states<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The report, released on Tuesday, also appears to confirm that Chris Cuomo drafted all or part of his brother\u2019s official statement on the allegations.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ag.ny.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/appendix_volume_ii_of_iii.pdf\">Exhibit 70<\/a> of the report\u2019s second appendix includes the text of an email written by Chris Cuomo at 3:13 p.m. on February 28. Below his name is the text of what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/news\/statement-governor-andrew-m-cuomo-209\">became<\/a> the \u201cComment from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.\u201d It was posted on the governor\u2019s website two-and-a-half hours later, at 5:45 p.m. Yet Governor Cuomo has appeared increasingly defiant about the allegations. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/i-do-it-with-everyone-andrew-cuomo-defends-himself-at-press-conference-refuses-to-resign\">I do it with everyone<\/a>,\u201d he said Tuesday afternoon, arguing the advances are \u201cmeant to convey warmth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chris Cuomo ultimately helped his brother evade accountability and enabled him to continue his pattern of harassment, the report states. \u201c[T]he Executive Chamber (and the Governor\u2019s select group of outside confidantes) looked to protect the Governor and found ways not to believe or credit those who stepped forward to make or support allegations against him,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n<p>The report also notes that one of Cuomo\u2019s victims felt distress watching CNN\u2019s positive portrayals of the New York Democrat, who was briefly touted as a late entrant to the 2020 presidential primaries.<\/p>\n<p>Anna Ruch, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/third-woman-accuses-cuomo-of-making-unwanted-sexual-advances-at-wedding\">has said<\/a> the governor made unwanted advances at a wedding, received a text message with a picture of Governor Cuomo pinching a young girl\u2019s cheeks on September 16, 2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis f**king guy,\u201d the text said.<\/p>\n<p>Anna replied that she had just seen adulatory coverage of Cuomo on CNN. \u201cWalked in to work and CNN was talking about his e cigarette ban. ALSO if you google Cuomo harassment it\u2019s all praising some workplace harassment policy he put in place,\u201d Ruch wrote. \u201cI wish I\u2019d said or tried to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thus far, CNN\u2019s news coverage seems to downplay the blockbuster nature of the AG report\u2019s expos\u00e9. \u201cNew York attorney general\u2019s report on Gov. Cuomo is civil, not criminal,\u201d CNN\u2019s Melanie Schuman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/live-news\/new-york-andrew-cuomo-investigation-08-03-21\/h_4c8c3c1819264c3378bb43e7aac991d8\">reported<\/a>. \u201cIn the report, the investigators repeatedly described Cuomo\u2019s conduct as \u2018unlawful.\u2019 A footnote in the report, however, said that the report was not reaching a conclusion as to \u2018whether the conduct amounts to or should be the subject of criminal prosecution.\u2019\u201d On the other hand, an analysis from Chris Cillizza <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/08\/03\/politics\/andrew-cuomo-sexual-harassment-governor\/index.html\">concludes<\/a> that the report \u201cwill almost certainly will end Andrew Cuomo\u2019s political career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>CNN\u2019s online <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/08\/03\/politics\/andrew-cuomo-new-york-report\/index.html\">story<\/a> about the bombshell AG report does not contain any reference to Chris Cuomo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCNN had no immediate comment on Tuesday,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/03\/business\/media\/chris-cuomo-governor-andrew-cuomo.html\">according<\/a> to the New York Times, which called the fact that the host \u201coffered political advice to his brother, a clear breach of traditional ethical barriers between journalists and lawmakers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But it is untenable for CNN\u2019 to maintain silence. The network officially&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/cnn-bans-chris-cuomo-from-covering-scandal-ridden-brother-as-criminal-investigation-starts-report\">banned<\/a>&nbsp;Chris Cuomo from covering his brother from 2013 until the spring of 2020. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cuomo brothers&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/watch-cuomo-brothers-debate-moms-favorite-on-air-you-violated-curfew-all-the-time\">joked<\/a> about family curfews and bantered about their childhood. But as investigators charged Cuomo with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/cuomo-nursing-home-scandal-worse-than-previously-reported-aides-spent-months-hiding-death-toll\">covering up<\/a> the number of COVID-19 deaths in the state\u2019s nursing homes, CNN reinstated the ban. And network executives took no action when it became clear that Chris Cuomo advised his brother.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. government is also&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/cnn-shrugs-off-report-that-chris-cuomo-received-special-treatment-from-gov-brother-any-human-being-would\">investigating<\/a>&nbsp;whether Chris Cuomo received preferential access to rapid COVID-19 tests at the height of the pandemic, when supplies stretched thin. At the time, CNN&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ErikWemple\/status\/1374911559873540103\">wrote off<\/a> the host\u2019s exploitation of his family connections, arguing that he behaved as \u201cany human being would.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now that it has been revealed Chris Cuomo received confidential information and attempted to shield his brother from accountability for a pattern of sexual impropriety in office, how can it justify its lackluster approach?<\/p>\n<p>CNN has always justified its (non-)response to Cuomo by saying that he neither covered his brother\u2019s peccadillos nor openly lobbied his colleagues about their coverage. But can CNN really say that Chris Cuomo didn\u2019t shape media coverage now that the state attorney general has confirmed that he apparently wrote the text of a press release designed to be <em>consumed <\/em>and reported by the media? How can CNN justify its hands-off response? And do executives realize they wouldn\u2019t have to if they had taken action after any of the numerous scandals that preceded their entirely foreseeable successor?<\/p>\n<p>CNN is in a deep moral quagmire of its own making.<\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the New York Attorney General\u2019s office accuses Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexually harassing 11 women, CNN finds itself mired in an ethical quagmire, as the report states the network\u2019s &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-610580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}