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Chris Cuomo Was Asking for Info on His Brother’s Accusers

Chris Cuomo addressing his brother’s resignation in August. Photo: CNN/YouTube

CNN host and anti-Italian-discrimination advocate Chris Cuomo has denied advising his brother, Andrew Cuomo, on how to defend against allegations of sexual misconduct, but on Monday it was revealed just how involved he was.

“Please let me help with the prep,” he wrote in March to the former governor’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, according to newly released interview transcripts from the investigation authorized by Attorney General Letitia James’s office. The investigation’s bombshell report this summer showed Chris Cuomo advising Andrew Cuomo not to resign. In March, he texted DeRosa with written statements for his brother describing “the conformity that can be forced by cancel culture” in addition to trying to dig up intel on reports from Politico and The New Yorker on new allegations before they were published.

That month, Chris Cuomo tried to advise on the strategy regarding an unwanted advance at a wedding reported by the New York Times. “I have a lead on the wedding girl,” he texted DeRosa, referring to a woman who was forcibly kissed by Andrew Cuomo. Speaking with investigators, the CNN host said he talked with his “sources” about the reports. “I would — when asked, I would reach out to sources, other journalists, to see if they had heard of anybody else coming out,” he told investigators, regarding whom he asked for information. The name of his source for the Times report was redacted in the transcripts. Cuomo, who has recused himself from his network’s coverage of the scandal, described reaching out to other reporters as “business as usual.” CNN, however, released a statement Monday saying the network “will be having conversations and seeking additional clarity” on the matter.

Chris Cuomo Was Asking for Info on His Brother’s Accusers