CNN's Brian Stelter Suggests 'Leave of Absence' for Chris Cuomo

Chris Cuomo's conflict of interest in advising his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on his sexual harassment allegations response is apparently so obvious even a CNN host is calling it out.

Brian Stelter, host of CNN's "Reliable Sources," suggested Chris Cuomo should have taken a "leave of absence from CNN."

The remarks, posted by Mediaite, came Sunday leading into a panel discussion of The Washington Post report that Chris Cuomo called into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's strategy sessions amid myriad allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment, or impropriety.

"CNN's Oliver Darcy reported that staffers here at CNN were bothered by Cuomo's conduct and by the violation of journalistic standards. The network said in a statement that it was 'inappropriate to engage in conversations that included members of the governor's staff,' and they say Chris acknowledges that fact. And Chris did issue an on-air apology to colleagues on Thursday, saying he put them in a bad spot and he won't do it again. Nicole, if Chris Cuomo wants to call into strategy sessions with his brother's aides, shouldn't he just take a leave of absence from CNN? Is that the right solution in the future?"

Nicole Hemmer is a professor from Columbia University, admitted a Cuomo leave of absence "should have happened."

"And certainly should happen going forward if he wants to rebuild his credibility," she added.

The Post's Perry Bacon Jr. said suspending Chris Cuomo after permitting him to praise Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his pandemic response is going to be difficult.

"You've allow an unjournalistic, or a bad journalistic, practice for much of last year," Bacon Jr. told Stelter.

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