Andrew Cuomo defends CNN anchor brother giving him political advice: 'He always tells me his thoughts'
'I talk to journalists about situations all the time and they tell me their thoughts and their advice'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D., defended his brother CNN anchor Chris Cuomo giving him political advice on Monday, saying he "always tells me his thoughts" and had "recused himself from the story" regardless.
"I had conversations with my brother. I always have conversations with my brother because he’s my brother and he’s my best friend," he told the New York Post.
"Obviously, he was aware of what was going on and I talked to him about it, and he told me his thoughts. He always tells me his thoughts. Sometimes I follow them, sometimes I don’t. He was not covering the story. He had recused himself from the story."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added: "I talk to journalists about situations all the time and they tell me their thoughts and their advice."
Chris Cuomo apologized on the air last week after a Washington Post report that he participated in strategy sessions with Gov. Cuomo and his top aides over how to handle multiple sexual harassment allegations, saying he had put his colleagues in a tight spot. However, he said he had "never hidden" that he had offered his brother advice.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN acknowledged his "inappropriate" conduct but said it would not discipline him, raising eyebrows even within the network.
CNN ADMITS CHRIS CUOMO INAPPROPRIATELY PROVIDED BROTHER ADVICE ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT SCANDAL
Among his reported advice involved using the phrase "cancel culture," a broadly defined term that more generally refers to unfair consequences for people who have committed perceived social offenses. Gov. Cuomo was panned in March when he suggested resigning would be succumbing to cancel culture.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The brothers' relationship has been a headache at CNN for more than a year now. The network had already been criticized for allowing them to conduct friendly interviews at the outset of a coronavirus pandemic, reversing an earlier rule it had against Chris Cuomo covering his famous brother.
It then reinstated the ban in March as Gov. Cuomo faced both harassment charges and accusations he covered up coronavirus nursing home deaths from federal inquiries.
Media critics said Chris Cuomo clearly crossed a line with his latest conduct, calling it "highly inappropriate for a journalist."
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"Stop and think about what happened here," Poynter Institute's Tom Jones wrote last week. "The host of a primetime show on one of the country’s biggest and most influential cable news networks is advising one of the most powerful and influential politicians in this country on how to handle serious sexual misconduct allegations."