Washington Post columnist calls for Chris Cuomo's suspension, blasts 'deplorable' CNN conduct

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A Washington Post columnist blasted the "deplorable behavior at CNN" and called for the network to suspend Chris Cuomo for his role in his big brother’s sexual harassment scandal. 

Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan slammed the liberal network in a piece headlined, "Albany’s newspaper has covered Gov. Cuomo’s sexual misconduct admirably. Chris Cuomo and CNN have blown it." She explained that local papers have done a remarkable job covering the embattled governor but "a behemoth cable TV company" has failed. 

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Sullivan said CNN’s "Cuomo Prime Time" host "put brotherly love ahead of journalistic propriety" and "the network’s leadership has let him get away with it" The CNN host was one of several unpaid, trusted outside figures consulted by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his Executive Chamber staff to grapple with the numerous sexual harassment allegations against him this year, according to a report from New York Attorney General Letitia James. 

A Washington Post columnist blasted the "deplorable behavior at CNN" and called for the network to suspend Chris Cuomo for his role in New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment scandal.  (CNN)

CNN’s Cuomo was allowed to go on air last week but he completely ignored the bombshell about his own brother or his own involvement. The AG report found that the governor sexually harassed multiple women. 

"The lessons? One of them is clearly this: National prominence and media-outlet size have exactly zero to do with ethical behavior," Sullivan wrote, repeating that the Times Union has covered the story fairly and ethically. 

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"Here’s what CNN’s Chris Cuomo has done over the past weeks and months: failed to maintain the most basic of journalistic principles, which are independence, fairness and impartiality," she wrote. 

"The attorney general’s report makes reference to him as one of his brother’s advisers and states that he may have even helped the governor draft statements in response to the allegations. The advice, atrociously, even included how to deal with the news media," Sullivan continued. "And his employer, essentially, has let the star host get away with it. Cuomo’s normally news-driven prime-time show last week made no mention of one of the biggest stories of the day: the growing likelihood that his brother would either resign under pressure or be impeached."

CNN had a longstanding policy that Chris Cuomo could not cover his brother but lifted the ban for a series of widely panned interviews during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ban was then reinstated when the governor, who CNN’s host adoringly refers to as "Love Gov," got caught up in a series of career-threatening scandals. 

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Earlier this year, Chris Cuomo publicly apologized to CNN colleagues for putting the network in a tough spot when it was first reported that he advised his big brother. 

"But CNN’s higher-ups seem inclined to look away," Sullivan wrote. "On Monday evening, Chris Cuomo won’t be on the air as he starts a supposedly long-planned vacation. It should be turned into — at least — an unpaid suspension of significant length. And CNN should be transparent with its viewers that its anchor acted unethically and that the network won’t countenance it."

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Fox News’ David Rutz contributed to this report.