CNN suspends Chris Cuomo indefinitely

The New York Times

The cable news network announced Cuomo's suspension Tuesday evening, one day after the New York Attorney General’s office released documents and transcripts detailing how he used his status and connections to try and help his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, respond to sexual harassment allegations. Cuomo also used his position to find out information on his brother's accusers. “The New York Attorney General’s office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo’s involvement in his brother’s defense,” CNN said in a statement. “The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions. 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.” As The New York Times notes, CNN president Jeff Zucker has staunchly supported Cuomo, "but this week presented a harsher set of facts for Mr. Zucker as he weighed the fate of his 9 p.m. host." The Wall Street Journal's Ben Mullin reports that the suspension came so fast that producers had expected Cuomo's show to go on as planned tonight.

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• Chris Cuomo's scandal is also a Jeff Zucker scandal: "Thus far, Chris Cuomo has escaped CNN disciplinary action for running afoul of commonly understood journalistic guidelines," says Erik Wemple. "His immunity stems in large part from his standing: a face of the network, a highly paid anchor and a close colleague of CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker. Any mid-level producer who did a comparable amount of line-crossing would have met the full wrath of the CNN News Standards and Practices Policy Guide. It’s unclear how many details of Chris Cuomo’s involvement were known to CNN all along. What is clear is that 100 percent of his misdeeds are also now the misdeeds of Zucker, who didn’t launch a “thorough review and consideration” months ago, before the damning emails and texts surfaced. Because those emails and texts usually surface, somehow or other."
• Chris Cuomo has lost his credibility as a news anchor and should be fired: "There are at least three things going on here that tend to destroy Chris Cuomo’s credibility as a news anchor," says Ben Mathis-Lilley. "The first is that he was using his position as a journalist to attempt to feed information to the subject of a major ongoing news story. The second is that he was encouraging his brother’s administration to pursue baseless smears against other journalists and their sources. The third is that he was at least somewhat deceptive on air about the thrust of his advice, which does not at all seem to have been geared toward honesty or contrition. Three big ethical problems is a lot of problems!"
• Zucker has reportedly faced "serious heat" from CNN's "infuriated talent," including Jake Tapper, over the last 24 hours
• Anderson Cooper 360 will be expanded into Cuomo's timeslot during the suspension
• Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who will become Zucker's boss when the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger is completed, was in the CNN newsroom today as the Cuomo controversy swirled