Meghan McCain Lashes Out About The Chris Cuomo CNN Scandal
There's no denying that Chris Cuomo is in hot water. The prime time anchor has been suspended "indefinitely" by CNN after it was revealed how involved he was in helping his older brother, Andrew, deal with sexual misconduct allegations that led to the then-Governor of New York resigning from office. "The New York Attorney General's office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo's involvement in his brother's defense," a CNN spokesperson said. "The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions."
While Cuomo had admitted that he offered his brother's staff advice during the time, he failed to admit to his "greater level of involvement in his brother's efforts" to fight back against the accusations, according to CNN. The documents, which were released by New York Attorney General Letitia James, showed numerous messages proving that Cuomo played a big part in his brother's defense strategy, and even used his connections as a journalist to feed the former governor's team with information about the accusers. "It hurts to even say it. It's embarrassing," Cuomo said on his SiriusXM show of the suspension. "But I understand it."
Although some viewers have expressed their upset that Cuomo has been taken off the air, many are calling for him to be fired immediately, including former "The View" cohost Meghan McCain.
Meghan McCain believes Chris Cuomo should be fired
While CNN has suspended Chris Cuomo while they further investigate his conduct, Meghan McCain thinks the journalist should be fired. "The question I present to CNN and their stockholders is this, in an era where public trust in the media is at historic lows, how can you ethically and in good faith continue to employ a man who is little more than a mouthpiece for his brother and the Democratic party?" she wrote in an opinion piece for the Daily Mail. "A man so devoid of morals or journalistic standards that he used his connections in media, and one can assume at his home network CNN, to find dirt on women who have credibly accused his brother [of] sexual harassment."
McCain went on to suggest that if Cuomo isn't fired, then the press should turn its attention to CNN President Jeff Zucker "and delve deeper into exactly why the president of his network is so hell bent on protecting Chris."
This isn't the first time Meghan McCain has lashed out at the Cuomos
Meghan McCain has spoken out against the Cuomo brothers before. In August 2021, she lashed out at Chris's failure to talk about the sexual harassment accusations against his brother on his primetime show. "You want to talk about nepotism?" McCain said on "The View" (per the New York Post). "Not having to talk about the biggest scandal in the country when it has to do with your brother and you're hosting CNN, that's nepotism. The Cuomo family and CNN are the worst kind of nepotism that the media has an example of."
In addition to calling for Andrew — who was then the Governor of New York — to either resign or be removed from office, McCain also insisted that Chris should face "retribution" for his failure to report on the scandal. "It's all disgusting," she said.
However, some viewers thought McCain was being a hypocrite for accusing Chris of nepotism considering her father is the late Senator John McCain. "@MeghanMcCain going off on the evils of nepotism on the last week of #TheView. Is this a subconscious self-own??" wrote on Twitter user, while another posted, "Meghan McCain was projecting with that nepotism comment. You know we look at YOU as the poster child for nepotism. Hush!"
Many in the media agree with Meghan McCain
Although Meghan McCain is unhappy that Chris Cuomo hasn't been fired from CNN after the prime time anchor was "suspended indefinitely" by the network, she was quick to point out that "there are good people who work at CNN. People whom I like and trust to deliver my news and commentary." She specifically signaled out S.E. Cupp, Jake Tapper, and Van Jones. "They all work incredibly hard and deserve better than to continue to have their careers tainted because they share a company byline with a liar and a fraud," she wrote in an opinion piece for the Daily Mail.
And McCain is not the only media figure with harsh words for Cuomo. In fact, many have posted their desire to see the journalist lose his job. "Chris Cuomo betrayed his profession to help his brother. He should resign. If he doesn't, CNN should fire him," tweeted Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic. Robby Soave of Reason posted, "Chris Cuomo must resign or be fired by CNN. His involvement in helping his brother navigate the accusations was far more extensive than he let on. It was an ethical lapse and betrayal of his viewers."