Stephen Colbert Presses Brian Stelter on CNN’s Chris Cuomo Controversy: ‘Seems Like an Odd Conflict of Rules’
Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter appeared on the Late Show Tuesday and offered a defense of his network and his colleague Chris Cuomo to a skeptical Stephen Colbert.
Cuomo’s brother Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday that he will resign as governor of New York in two weeks after the state attorney general issued a report that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women. That dynamic has caused headaches at CNN, where the governor’s brother hosts a primetime show each every week night. The CNN host did not address the issue at all on his show last week, and this week he is on what he said is a preplanned vacation.
Colbert alluded to reports detailing how the CNN host had been advising his brother on how to handle the accusations, and how he ultimately suggested to Andrew that he resign as governor.
“Are people mad at him?” Colbert asked Stelter about how his fellow CNN employees feel. “Is he in trouble?”
That led to this exchange:
STELTER: Some people are mad at him. By the way, I can confirm The New York Times report. I’ll confirm it for your viewers. I also have a source that says Chris was on the phone his brother this week–
COLBERT: Is your source Chris Cuomo?
STELTER: He is not. He is not. You gotta have boundaries. You gotta draw lines.
COLBERT: Why? He doesn’t.
[oohs from audience]
STELTER: I think he does, actually.
COLBERT: Really?
STELTER: I think Chris does. I don’t know about the governor.
Stelter said that CNN acknowledged Cuomo “screwed up” by participating in the strategy sessions with his brother. Colbert then pointed out that Cuomo had said he wouldn’t talk about his brother “once the trouble started.” Stelter replied that that was a “management ruling.”
Colbert interjected by referring to the light-hearted appearances the governor made on his brother’s show last year. “But why didn’t they rule that way when his brother was on the show pretty much every night during the Covid crisis?”
TONIGHT: @BrianStelter talks about the "wide range of opinions" inside CNN regarding anchor Chris Cuomo's coverage of his brother Andrew. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/27Z02RTNa3
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) August 11, 2021
“It’s really complicated,” replied Stelter.
“That seems like an odd conflict of rules,” responded Colbert.
“It is an odd conflict,” said Stelter. “But I don’t think if we open up the journalism ethics book, there’s no page for this. It’s the craziest set of circumstances you can imagine, right? A governor and a brother both in these high profile jobs. This was definitely awkward for CNN though.”
When the allegations against the governor arose earlier this year, Chris Cuomo said, “Obviously I’m aware of what’s going on with my brother. And obviously I cannot cover it because he is my brother.”
Later it was revealed that the CNN host had been participating in strategy sessions with his brother as to how to handle to accusations against him. CNN President Jeff Zucker called those “a mistake.”
Watch above via CBS. The full interview airs tonight on The Late Show.
