On Thursday night, CNN ran a full 24 hours with no mention of the latest bombshell story about New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who involved his brother, “Cuomo Prime Time” anchor Chris Cuomo.
The Times Union newspaper in Albany reported on Wednesday night that “senior members” of the New York Department of Health were instructed by the governor and state health commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker, to “conduct health testing. coronaviruses prioritized in relatives of the governor and also influential people linked to the administration. ”
“Members of the Cuomo family, including his brother, his mother and at least one of his sisters, were also tested by senior officials in the health department – some of them several times, the sources said,” according to the Times Union.
However, CNN has yet to mention the Times Union reports on the air or on its website.
CNN’S CHRIS CUOMO PRIORIZED BEFORE PANDEMIC FOR COVID TESTING BY BROTHER’S ADMINISTRATION
The closest thing to CNN’s coverage of the scandal, which is now being investigated as part of an impeachment investigation of the governor by New York lawmakers, was a mention in Brian Stelter’s “Trusted Sources” daily bulletin, which has a very wide audience. smaller than the network itself.
Media columnist Caleb Howe criticized Cuomo’s blackout, scoffing at the fact that the only mention of Cuomo’s name on Thursday was in a retransmission of “Anderson Cooper 360” on Wednesday night, in which the host mentioned that Cuomo was “off tonight” as he is for the rest of the week.
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“The story has been circulating throughout the media, including rivals Fox News and MSNBC, as well as dozens of print and online media. Not on CNN. On CNN there was silence on the radio all day, ”wrote Howe. “It is a difficult situation to be, to have news like this involving one of the employees of the station itself, a face of the network. That place was made difficult by his own hands, as he brought the governor for softball interviews, to talk to his brother in a mix of casual conversation and pseudo-reporting about a major pandemic in the state. ”
“Yes, it is a difficult situation,” added Howe later. “Human beings often suffer in prisons that they have created themselves.”
The pro-Cuomo chain raised its eyebrows on Wednesday night with a statement that seemed to dispel the controversy.
“We generally don’t get involved in the medical decisions of our employees. However, it is not surprising in the early days of a global pandemic that occurs once every century, when Chris had symptoms and was concerned about the possible spread, he turned to anyone. who could seek advice and assistance, as any human being would, “CNN Chief Strategic Communications Officer Matt Dornic told Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple.
The anchor “Cuomo Prime Time” was diagnosed with the coronavirus on March 31. As the Times Union noted, the diagnosis came “at a time when many members of the public were struggling to get coronavirus tests.”
CHRIS CUOMO OUTSIDE THIS WEEK WHILE CNN AVOID REPORTING NEW YORK GOV BROTHER GIVEN PRIORITY TO BROTHER’S COVID TEST
It is not clear, however, whether Chris Cuomo himself, CNN or New York state taxpayers funded the test that showed positive results.
According to the newspaper, epidemiologist Dr. Eleanor Adams was sent to the CNN anchor’s residence on Long Island to test it. It is not clear whether she administered the positive test results.
In addition, New York State Police soldiers were reportedly required to conduct these COVID tests, which were referred to as “critical samples”, at the Wadsworth Center laboratory in Albany.
A Cuomo government official told the Albany newspaper: “It is being distorted a little with a tortuous intention … We made a point of testing the people they believed had been exposed.” The official added, “All of this was being done in good faith in an effort to track the virus.”
CNN did not respond to Fox News’ repeated requests for comment.
On Tuesday, the Cuomo Prime Time twitter reported that the presenter was taking a week off to spend time with his family. He is scheduled to return on Monday.
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Despite benefiting from priority testing, Chris Cuomo seemed to disregard his own brother’s COVID blocking restrictions, leaving his home while recovering from the virus. In April last year, the anchor reportedly engaged in a verbal confrontation on the lawn of another property with a cyclist who called him for violating the governor’s policies.
The new report also relives scrutiny of the CNN star’s close ties to the Democratic politician. After allowing Chris Cuomo to joke and perform propaganda comedy with his older brother almost a dozen times on “Cuomo Prime Time”, CNN recently announced that the anchor cannot cover the growing scandals that plague the Cuomo government, including a controversy surrounding deaths in nursing homes and multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.