The network said it was pursuing a “further evaluation” of evidence regarding its star anchor’s efforts to help stave off a sexual harassment scandal that his brother, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, was facing.
The anchor Chris Cuomo said on Wednesday that he was embarrassed by CNN’s decision to suspend him indefinitely for his efforts earlier this year to help his brother, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, stave off a mounting sexual harassment scandal. In his first public remarks on CNN’s decision, Mr. Cuomo, speaking on his SiriusXM radio program, acknowledged his suspension — “it hurts to even say it” — but said he understood it, adding: “I know they have a process that they think is important. I respect that process.” For CNN and its president, Jeff Zucker, however, the questions over Mr. Cuomo’s breach of basic journalistic rules and the timing of the network’s decision to suspend him are unlikely to disappear. CNN said on Tuesday that it would pursue a “further evaluation” of thousands of pages of new evidence released on Monday by the New York attorney general, Letitia James. Those documents included testimony and text messages showing that Mr. Cuomo’s role in advising the governor’s aides — already a violation of the traditional barriers between journalists and lawmakers — had been more involved and intimate than previously known. Ms. James’s report took CNN management by surprise, according to three people familiar with internal conversations. Mr. Zucker’s decision to suspend Mr. Cuomo came so late on Tuesday that the “Cuomo Prime Time” production team was already in the office preparing for that evening’s broadcast. Mr. Cuomo met in person with Mr. Zucker in the late afternoon and then addressed his staff in an emotional meeting, two of the people said. The network declined to comment on Wednesday about the exact contours of its inquiry into Mr. Cuomo, calling it an internal matter.
