CNN boss Jeff Zucker and his paramour Allison Gollust had an inappropriately shut friendship with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — personally calling him to do information segments along with his brother Chris Cuomo and even teaching him on what to say throughout his notorious COVID briefings, The Publish has realized.
Gollust and Zucker — the latter of whom dramatically give up CNN Wednesday after their affair was uncovered — additionally gave Andrew Cuomo countless optimistic protection due to their relationship, sources stated.
“Whereas these 11:30 a.m. every day briefings by Andrew had been throughout each community, they boosted scores in a poorly performing slot for CNN,” one supply stated.
In accordance with a supply to Cuomo, “Zucker and Gollust even suggested Andrew what to say — the best way to reply and notably the best way to hit again at [President Donald] Trump to make it extra compelling TV.
“No community head must be teaching an elected official,” the supply added. “It’s completely the antithesis of CNN’s requirements of enterprise.”
A number of insiders say the friendship between Andrew Cuomo and Zucker stretches again years — whereas Gollust was the disgraced governor’s head of communications, earlier than becoming a member of CNN.
Since-fired anchor Chris Cuomo hosted his brother greater than a dozen instances on his primetime present, with some brotherly banter infused with simmering sibling rivalry.
Regardless of widespread criticism on the time, CNN denied it was a battle of curiosity, telling the Washington Publish, “We felt that Chris talking along with his brother in regards to the challenges of what hundreds of thousands of American households had been combating was of great human curiosity.”
A rep for Zucker stated of the declare he gave Andrew Cuomo preferential remedy and training for his COVID press conferences, “That is 100% false. Throughout a as soon as in a lifetime pandemic when individuals had been determined for info, CNN and each different community took the briefings dwell. Jeff in fact had a relationship with Andrew Cuomo, as he does with numerous different electeds.”
Zucker was requested about his closeness to Andrew Cuomo by the legislation agency Cravath, Swaine & Moore which is within the technique of doing an unbiased probe into Chris Cuomo’s efforts to assist is governor brother battle sexual misconduct allegations.
Zucker was interviewed by the legislation agency final week, throughout which particulars of his affair with colleague Allison Gollust emerged, forcing him to step down from CNN. Sources stated the 2 are nonetheless relationship.
The ousted community boss is anticipated to face additional questioning about his cozy relationship with Andrew if he's deposed in Chris Cuomo’s lawsuit in opposition to CNN over his firing.
CNN and Gollust didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Andrew Cuomo’s rep declined to remark.
In the meantime, the Publish additionally realized that Zucker and Gollust made private calls to Andrew Cuomo in 2020, in a bid to lure the governor to make extra flattering appearances on Chris Cuomo’s present.
Trying to maintain Andrew Cuomo on his brother’s present and increase scores at the same time as controversy swirled across the puffy segments, Gollust personally referred to as Cuomo and leaned on her “good relationship” with the governor, sources with direct data instructed The Publish.
Gollust additionally appeared to capitalize on her ties with the governor’s high aide Melissa DeRosa, which she had cultivated years earlier when she briefly labored as Cuomo’s communications chief in 2012 and 2013, the supply stated.
An ex-Cuomo staffer instructed The Publish that even after her departure from the governor’s workplace, Gollust and Cuomo “stayed pleasant.”
“I obtained the sense she and the governor stayed mates,” the supply stated.
Zucker additionally straight reached out to Cuomo not less than as soon as to induce him to maintain approaching his brother’s present, in accordance with the supply.
“They needed extra appearances,” the supply stated.
Gollust’s maneuverings concerned going over the heads of Cuomo’s communications workers, most of whom had joined the governor’s workplace after Gollust had already left, in accordance with the supply.
Many of the comms workers at the moment hadn’t labored with Allison,” the supply stated. “She was solely there for 4 months and it was 150 years in the past.”
“The governor and her had an excellent relationship,” the supply added.
The key lovers’ appeals got here because the brothers’ buddy-buddy segments within the spring of 2020 boosted CNN’s scores however attracted moral scrutiny from pundits and media critics.
The “blowback” gave members of the now-disgraced governor’s group chilly ft — they usually thought-about reserving fewer appearances with Chris Cuomo or pulling out of the interviews altogether, the supply stated.
A nursing dwelling advocate accused Zucker and Gollust of serving to Andrew Cuomo’s cover-up of COVID-19 nursing dwelling deaths by urging the then-governor to seem on his brother’s present, the place he obtained the softball remedy.
“The Cuomo brothers had been shielded by CNN. We should always name it the `Cuomo Information Community,'” stated Tracey Alvino, whose dad, Daniel, was contaminated with COVID-19 in a Lengthy Island nursing dwelling and later died.
Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens), a staunch critic of Andrew Cuomo’s dealing with of nursing properties throughout the pandemic, stated “this was an enormous violation of journalistic ethics by CNN.”
“CNN gave Andrew Cuomo cowl as a ‘COVID hero.’ They helped validate that narrative when his choices ought to have been questioned,” Kim stated.
A CNN rep stated, “Reserving newsmakers on tv is all the time extraordinarily aggressive amongst networks and an all-hands-on-deck endeavour. Everybody on the information group pitches in, particularly in vital moments, such because the early days of the pandemic when the general public was looking forward to real-time info from elected officers.”
A media insider added, “The Cuomos are determined, remoted and clearly as much as their outdated methods anonymously smearing their enemies within the press.”
Chris Cuomo was fired from CNN in December over his involvement in his brother’s scandals. Since Cuomo was fired for violating firm insurance policies, CNN has argued that it doesn’t should pay out the roughly $18 million Cuomo would have been owed over the rest of his contract.
Cuomo’s attorneys have seized on Zucker’s affair — which additionally violates CNN insurance policies — to argue that AT&T has selectively enforced its ethics guidelines and that Cuomo must be entitled to a payout, sources say.
Zucker has rigorously crafted CNN because the “anti-Trump community” in a bid to enhance its flagging scores. The previous president yesterday celebrated the information that Zucker was stepping down, calling him “a world-class sleazebag.”
Sarcastically, Chris Cuomo was fired by Zucker and Gollust after a assessment by an outdoor legislation agency concluded that Chris “had been far more deeply concerned [in Andrew Cuomo’s issues] than we had ever recognized and than he’d ever instructed us, ” Zucker stated on a name with CNN workers.
The community additionally lashed out in a press release about Chris, “He has made a variety of accusations which are patently false. This reinforces why he was terminated for violating our requirements and practices.”
Extra reporting by Carl Campanile and Bernadette Hogan
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