The New York Times reports that former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo tried to shift a sexual assault accusation by proposing complementary coverage of the accuser’s employer.
Attorney Debra Katz, representing a woman who worked with Cuomo years prior at ABC News, characterized the circumstances as an “abuse of power at CNN to attempt to silence my client” amid the #MeToo movement.
The accuser, who chooses to remain anonymous at this point, “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.”
The woman was working at a public relations company when Cuomo offered to do a feature on the company. However, Cuomo was fired less than a day after Katz’s letter arrived at CNN.
Cuomo was fired on Dec. 4 amid an inquisition into his involvement in advising his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, on his sexual assault allegations.
The former anchor also finds himself in a legal suit to claim all the money left on his contract. According to a recent report, Cuomo wants $60 million from the network in a settlement.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
