Chris Cuomo.Photo: CNN
On Dec. 1, 2021, CNN announced that it hadsuspended theCuomo Prime Timeanchorfor his involvement in defending his brother, embattled former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, againstsexual harassment allegationsand a misdemeanorsex crime chargewhich was later dropped.
Chris' suspension, the network said at the time, was “pending further evaluation.”
That new information came in the form of a letter from attorney Debra S. Katz, who said she was representing an anonymous client who worked with Cuomo at ABC News,The New York Timesreported on Tuesday, citing interviews with Katz, Chris' accuser and other sources.
Addressed to a CNN lawyer, the letter stated that the woman was a temp at ABC in 2011 but was looking for permanent employment when she accepted an invitation to have lunch with Chris, who had previously offered her career advice, according to theTimes.
When she arrived for the meeting with Chris, who was an ABC News anchor at the time, there was nothing to eat in his office. Rather than having lunch, he allegedly tried to convince the woman to have sex with him, but she declined, the letter says.
Then, she claimed, he assaulted her and she fled the office, according to the report.
A spokesman for Cuomo disputed the woman’s account in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “As Mr. Cuomo has stated previously, the allegations in the anonymous letter are false,” the spokesman said. “He was never asked about the allegations prior to being terminated nor given an opportunity to respond to the allegations.”
Katz did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Wednesday.
Andrew and Chris Cuomo.Kevin Mazur/Getty
In her letter, Katz reportedly wrote about an “abuse of power at CNN to attempt to silence my client.”
That refers to contact Chris made with her client, referred to as Jane Doe in the letter, during the#MeToo movement, when other high-profile figures like NBC’sMatt Lauerwere swept up inallegations of sexual misconduct and abuse.
When reaching out to the woman, per theTimes, Chris suggested news coverage on CNN about the company where she was working in public relations.
“After years without any substantive communication from Mr. Cuomo whatsoever, Ms. Doe suspected he was concerned about her coming forward publicly with her allegations and wanted to use the proposed segment as an opportunity to ‘test the waters’ and discourage her from going on the record about his sexual misconduct,” Katz reportedly wrote in the letter, according to theTimes.
The segment eventually aired on CNN.
A source familiar with what transpired, however, offered an opposing view to PEOPLE: This source says the company where the woman was working had been the subject of sustained news coverage and it would have made sense for a journalist to reach out.
The source also insists that the letter and the woman’s claims were not investigated prior to Chris being fired.
In this source’s telling, Zucker had initially indicated to Chris that he could potentially return from his suspension, and CNN anchor Brian Stelter said as much on the air. But days after the letter was sent to the network, Chris was fired. (He has since hired a noted attorney and is thought to be preparing a lawsuit against CNN.)
She reportedly told five friends and former colleagues that Chris had made unwelcome sexual advances but didn’t reveal her sexual assault allegation to anyone until last year.
Katz told theTimesthat her client was “deeply traumatized” and didn’t want to be used as a “pawn” as CNN grapples with fallout from Chris' departure from the network and revelations that came months later about Jeff Zucker, then the president of CNN Worldwide.
Allison Gollust and Jeff Zucker.Mike Groll/AP/Shutterstock; ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
Zucker himself wasforced to resignin early February for failing to disclose a “consensual relationship” with a colleague, revealed to be Chief Marketing Officer Allison Gollust.
“As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years,” Zucker said in a statement. “I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today.”
On Tuesday, Gollust alsoresigned from CNNand blasted its parent company WarnerMedia for “an attempt to retaliate against me and change the media narrative,” she said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
“It is deeply disappointing that after spending the past nine years defending and upholding CNN’s highest standards of journalistic integrity, I would be treated this way as I leave,” she said.
“I realize this news is troubling, disappointing and, frankly, painful to read,” Kilar wrote.
source: people.com
