Reporter Who Spoke To State Investigators About Gov. Cuomo Wants Little Brother Chris To Pay Too

A former reporter who spoke to state investigators during their probe into Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that his CNN host brother needs come clean over his role in the scandal, Fox News reported Thursday.

Lindsay Nielsen, former investigative reporter at News 10 ABC, was shocked CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was mentioned in Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation’s report that concluded Tuesday the governor sexually harassed multiple women during his administration, according to Fox News. Nielsen told Fox News “one of the reasons” she left the news company was because of intimidation and bullying from the Cuomo administration.

The report said Chris Cuomo drafted a statement to help his brother respond to allegations in February, according to Fox News. The governor denied any wrongdoing in his statement shortly after James’ press conference, arguing that some of the things he was accused of doing, like hugging or kissing women on the cheek or forehead, were simply a way he routinely greeted people.

“They’re saying he (Chris) was working in a capacity for the State of New York without an official title. I mean, that in and of itself right there, I think is another issue that has come out of this whole report,” Nielsen told Fox News.

“It’s a very difficult situation,” Nielsen said, according to Fox News. “How can you trust that someone is being fair and unbiased when he hasn’t even addressed it?”

The “Cuomo Prime Time” show didn’t mention the scandal on Tuesday or Wednesday night.

Nielsen said viewers “deserve” a statement from Chris Cuomo about the investigation to maintain journalistic integrity, according to Fox News. “I think some point he would have to answer to that… you have this tangled web mess that has to be figured out and I don’t know how or if they’re going to do that.”

CNN banned the host from covering his brother when he joined the company in 2013, but the restriction was lifted for their coronavirus interview sessions in March 2020, according to Fox News. The ban was reinstated in February when the governor was slammed with multiple scandals about his treatment of his female workers and his rules surrounding nursing homes.

“I think there’s so many questions that people are going to have to now have when they’re thinking about Chris Cuomo,” she said. “Now he’s involved. So, yeah, you have this mess.”