New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday that he will resign from his role in two weeks’ time. The governor’s announcement comes one week after New York state attorney general Tish James released a lengthy report concluding that the governor sexually harassed 11 women. Gov. Cuomo, who served as New York state’s governor for more than a decade, continues to deny all charges being made against him.
Gov. Cuomo’s brother, CNN host Chris Cuomo, was supposedly among those who convinced him to resign. The New York Times’ Michael Grynbaum reports: “Chris Cuomo has regularly spoken with Governor Cuomo by telephone over the past week and advised his brother to resign, said two people who requested anonymity to describe sensitive private conversations.”
Back in May, The Washington Post reported that Chris Cuomo had participated in strategy sessions with his brother about how to handle the sexual harassment allegations. After the WaPo report was published, CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker said the 9 p.m. host had “made a mistake” by advising his brother, and the network would not allow Cuomo to formally advise him going forward; but that he would not be taken off the air. Cuomo also apologized to his CNN colleagues and told viewers he would not discuss his brother on-air.
The findings from the AG’s report have been has covered extensively by CNN over the past week, but the scandal was not covered on Cuomo Primetime. The host is on a pre-planned vacation this week.