CNN's Chris Cuomo says he 'obviously' can't cover brother

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CNN host Chris Cuomo told viewers Monday that he “obviously” couldn't cover the stories surrounding his older brother New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who is accused of sexual harassment by two women who work in state government and a third who he allegedly encountered at a wedding.

The prime time host addressed the topic immediately at the start of his show, which airs at 9 p.m. Eastern, and just as quickly moved on.

“Obviously, I'm aware of what's going on with my brother ” he said. “Obviously, I cannot cover it because he is my brother. Now, of course CNN has to cover it. They have covered it extensively and they will continue to do so.”

He said he cares “profoundly” about the issues brought up by the women who have accused his brother.

Both Andrew Cuomo, 63, and Chris, 53, are sons of the late New York Gov. Mario Cuomo. The embattled Andrew Cuomo is in his third term as New York's leader.

The issue is awkward for CNN because it waived its long-time policy of not allowing Chris to cover his older brother last spring, when New York was the epicenter of the COVID epidemic. The two men appeared together several times on Chris' show, bantering while talking about the disease, appearances that charmed many viewers but struck some observers as ethically questionable.

Chris Cuomo has not talked about his brother in recent weeks as his handling of COVID-19 patients in New York's nursing homes last spring became an issue.