CNN has suspended Chris Cuomo for two weeks without pay in response to recent comments he made defending former Trump attorney Michael Cohen in a closed-door interview, according to a network statement. The news of the suspension of one of CNN’s most prominent reporters and personalities comes on the same day President Trump publicly defended Cuomo and argued that he should be fired for disputing Trump’s version of events.
[NOW: CNN suspends Chris Cuomo for 2 weeks without pay for comments on Michael Cohen’s interview]https://t.co/xtla0NEIhp — Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) August 4, 2018
Cuomo, in an interview with NBC’s Hallie Jackson, praised Cohen’s performance and argued that the statements Trump made to Congress during his testimony could not be repeated in court. Earlier in the interview, Cuomo noted that federal prosecutors often do not present high-quality evidence in criminal trials, but could use the facts to prove the false statements Trump made during the testimony, and argued that Cohen’s statement was sufficient for a conviction.
“He followed through with his obligations and accepted responsibility,” Cuomo said. “I think one of the remarkable parts of this was a strong man taking responsibility and saying, ‘I messed up.’ That was the real truth, in my view. Not this fabricated version that everyone else is offering.”
Cuomo has since said he stands by his remarks.
Trump tweeted about Cuomo’s suspension on Sunday:
Thank you, Jeff Zucker! @CNN suspended Chris Cuomo for two weeks for asking a tough question. That’s Fake News. Chris is a fine person who I respect a lot, but he had no right to question the testimony of a convicted liar. Get back to the basics and make it a great show! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2018
Cuomo, in response, argued that Trump was guilty of multiple cases of perjury, writing that “what President Trump and his lawyers have been telling the world for seven years, is false. I can’t believe they say it out loud.”
CNN has three days to decide whether they want to keep him in the fold or let him go — but we do know that they don’t want to fire him.