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CNN bans Chris Cuomo from covering Andrew Cuomo over Covid-19 cover-up, Internet says brothers 'should be in jail'

Why this is particularly noteworthy is because coverage surrounding the governor's 'cover-up' was going as per usual on other CNN shows

CNN claimed on Wednesday, February 17 that it has allegedly reinstated a ban on host Chris Cuomo that prevents him from "interviewing or covering his brother", New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. This comes in light of the host allegedly completely ignoring the nursing home death cover-up scandal surrounding the governor. 

Andrew Cuomo appeared on Chris' show 'Cuomo Prime Time' more than ten times last year, where he was repeatedly questioned about the coronavirus pandemic. The two even engaged in banter with Chris evidently praising his brother and remembering their father.

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CNN was criticized by the Washington Post on February 16 after Chris Cuomo failed to even mention his 63-year-old brother while addressing the biggest stories related to Covid-19 the previous night. This was especially remarkable considering how just hours ago, the governor had finally addressed the latest scandal surrounding his handling of the data involving Covid-19 deaths in the state's nursing homes in a press conference. According to recent reports, the FBI and the US attorney's office in the Eastern District of New York are investigating Governor Cuomo's handling of nursing homes during the pandemic.

After Chris Cuomo completely ignored the press conference, one of the main coronavirus stories of the day and dedicated his entire show to Donald Trump's impeachment trial, The Post criticized CNN for allowing Chris to deliver "over-the-top praise when the governor is up; silence when he's down". 

Why this is particularly noteworthy is because coverage surrounding the governor's scandal was going as per usual on other CNN shows. On Sunday night, 'State of the Union' host Jake Tapper criticized the state Health Department’s since-rescinded, March 25 directive for nursing homes to admit Covid-19 patients. "So Governor Cuomo, who has declined to appear on this show despite dozens of requests over the past year, including this past week, made a bad decision that may have cost lives," Tapper said. "And then his administration hid that data from the public."

In a statement to Washington Post, CNN clarified their stand saying that they had earlier allowed the host to break the rules on interviewing family members as the first months of the pandemic crisis "were an extraordinary time". "We felt that Chris speaking with his brother about the challenges of what millions of American families were struggling with was of significant human interest," it added. "As a result, we made an exception to a rule that we have had in place since 2013 which prevents Chris from interviewing and covering his brother, and that rule remains in place today."

The network also argued that it has "covered the news surrounding Governor Cuomo extensively". The reinstation of this ban comes months after Chris dedicated his show to praising his brother. Over the course of the last year, the governor was interviewed by his brother in more than ten appearances.

In one interview on June 24, 2020, Chris readily admitted that he was incapable of objectivity when it came to his brother. "I'm wowed by what you did. And, more importantly, I'm wowed by how you did it, very hard I know it's not over," he said. "Obviously, I love you as my brother. Obviously, I'm not able to be objective. Obviously, I think you're the best politician in the country but I hope you feel good about what you did for your people." Earlier in the segment, he himself had acknowledged that Andrew should not be allowed on the show.

"I always won't be able to keep having you on the show, it won't be seen as fair in people's eyes and we both get that and that's ok," he said. But continued showering praises adding, "I hope you're able to recognize what even I'm able to recognize being spawned by the same wolf pack. I hope you are able to appreciate what you did in your state and what it will mean for the country now and what it will always mean to those who love and care about you most."

Twitter is livid since Andrew was not questioned about the many deaths. "CNN is an accessory to murder," Mike Cernovich tweeted. "The better idea would be to just ban Chris Cuomo," another added. "Seriously everyone should ban them both. @NYGovCuomo @ChrisCuomo," a social media user added.

The hashtag #CuomoCoverup also started doing the rounds. "HAHA ! Love this ! #CNN re-instated a ban on Chris Cuomo covering his brother, the governor.. I can't imagine what could have brought this on so suddenly... #CuomoCoverup," one tweeted. "Why no coverage of Governor Cuomo? And all of a sudden this network reinstates the ban on Chris Cuomo reporting on his brother? What little credibility this had is gone down the toilet," another asked the network directly. Yet another wrote: "11 months late".

One other user commented: "I can’t believe it took this long for @cnn to stop @ChrisCuomo from talking to or about his BROTHER @NYGovCuomo. It shows what shit shape our media is in as morons are running it. They have 25 other people that can deal with the Governor. His brother didn’t need to be one of them," while another was even more direct: "They should both be in jail. Chris Cuomo is an accessory Andrew’s corruption and complicit his brother’s heinous behavior."