The New York attorney general released a video on Thursday of the testimony that led to the firing of former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.
Late last year, CNN fired Chris Cuomo after unearthed text messages revealed that he used his media sources to discredit his brother Andrew’s accusers, raising “serious concerns” about his ethical conduct.
When Andrew Cuomo resigned as governor of New York after a series of sexual misconduct allegations, Chris Cuomo initially told CNN he only aided the disgraced politician as a brother, not as an actual adviser:
When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly. But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second.
However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew. As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.
The video released by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday helps shed further light on the Cuomo firing and were only released under New York discovery laws after a criminal complaint was filed against Andrew Cuomo, according to Fox News.
In the July 15 testimony, Chris Cuomo told investigators that he indeed reached out to several journalists and sources through his CNN connections to aid his brother in the investigation against him, which contradicts what he told CNN viewers in August when he said, “I never made calls to the press about my brother’s situation.”
“When asked, I would reach out to sources, other journalists, to see if they had heard of anybody else coming out,” Cuomo told investigators.
In the six-hour testimony, Cuomo touched on a variety of subjects, from the various media figures he connected with to discussions he had with his brother about the allegations. At one point, he told investigators that contacting other reporters about potential upcoming stories was “business as usual.”
“I was trying to help my brother,” said. “I advised him.”