Stelter admits scandal was a “CNN conundrum”, but defends Chris Cuomo for “ignoring the family drama”

CNN’s Brian Stelter has addressed the embarrassing position he and his colleagues find themselves in as “Cuomo Prime Time” host Chris Cuomo remains silent about his brother, the governor of New York. Andrew Cuomosexual harassment scandal, admitting that it is a “conundrum” for the network.

In the explosive report from New York Attorney General Letitia James, which concluded that Governor Cuomo sexually harassed several women, it was also the revelation that Chris had helped draft his brother’s public response to the allegations. Despite this ethically questionable information, CNN allowed Cuomo to air on the night of the explosive press conference. Cuomo was a mom on the scandal, telling viewers her show would focus on COVID-19 instead.

That’s because CNN management, Stelter explained, forbade Cuomo from speaking about his brother’s situation on the air. They also told the host that he could no longer participate in strategy sessions with his brother’s assistants.

“This has been a conundrum for CNN which has no perfect answer, no perfect solution,” Stelter said on Sunday’s “Reliable Sources”.

Stelter noted that some of Cuomo’s colleagues are “pissed off at him” and that this is an “optical problem” for the network.

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However, in his monologue, Stelter also defended Cuomo and CNN in more ways than one. The network has come under fire for failing to punish Cuomo after it was revealed that he participated in strategy sessions with the governor’s assistants and for allowing him to have pleasant talks with the governor during the pandemic of COVID-19. But Stelter suggested the talks could be excused because it was an “unprecedented time.”

Stelter went on to praise Cuomo for “ignoring the family drama” and conducting “compelling interviews” during last week’s “Cuomo Prime Time”, managing to achieve top marks on the network for a few consecutive nights. The “Reliable Sources” host also noted that Cuomo works “on multiple floors” of the newsroom where reporters post coverage of the governor’s damaged reputation.

“Personally, I think he should speak up when the time is right,” Stelter said, considering him to be “part of history”.

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CNN, Stelter continued, “is so much bigger than any presenter.” He went on to defend CNN’s coverage of the governor as having been “scathing and sufficiently thorough”.

Viewers tore up Stelter for the segment as “shameless”, with some accusing him of engaging in a “change of blame.” Others have renewed their demands that CNN keep Cuomo off the air to avoid a conflict of interest.

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