Cuomo’s final straw

By Tara Palmeri

In the past couple of years, CHRIS CUOMO has delivered some solid ratings for CNN, but also constant aggravation for the network.

Just to name a few:

— He bizarrely denied allegations of sexual misconduct during a leaked phone call with MICHAEL COHEN in which he and the former Trump lawyer rehearsed how to do an interview.

— He nearly came to blows with a right-wing troll in the Hamptons after being called “Fredo.”

— He received priority Covid testing (thanks to his brother, then-Gov. ANDREW), flouted Covid restrictions after being diagnosed with the illness, and then fought with a neighbor who called him out on it.

— He faced allegations that he sexually harassed SHELLEY ROSS, who was Cuomo’s executive producer when the pair worked at ABC News.

— He repeatedly clashed with his CNN executive producer MELANIE BUCK, who reportedly then “begged to leave” his show.

— And then finally came the news that he’d advised his brother Andrew on how to defend himself against multiple women who accused the governor of sexual misconduct — which was confirmed by an investigation by the N.Y. attorney general, and prompted CNN to suspend Cuomo and mount what would be his final investigation at the network.

On Wednesday, CNN received word from an outside law firm that they had concluded an investigation into the matter, and that the network had grounds to terminate the anchor based solely on whether he had given full disclosure about how he was consulting his brother.

Then, on Wednesday night, employment attorney DEBRA S. KATZ informed the network of a fresh allegation of sexual misconduct by Cuomo — another allegation that would require yet another investigation.

Which meant that on Thursday morning, network leadership woke up to a double whammy that had essentially sealed Cuomo’s fate, although JEFF ZUCKER did not announce the decision until Saturday night.

CNN “Reliable Sources” host BRIAN STELTER called it “death by a thousand cuts,” adding that “many CNN staffers were unhappy with the situation.”

On top of that, sources at both ABC and CNN said that New York Times reporter JODI KANTOR — who won a Pulitzer for her coverage of sexual misconduct by HARVEY WEINSTEIN and other major media figures — has been calling network insiders for months investigating a story on Cuomo’s alleged sexual misconduct.

A CNN spokesperson confirmed that there have been no sexual misconduct claims against Cuomo at CNN. Stelter reported that the colleague who accused him of sexual harassment was at ABC, which he left for CNN in 2013. An ABC spokesperson did not get back to us.

Shortly after Cuomo was fired, JAKE TAPPER’s name started circulating as a potential prime-time replacement. But a network source said it would be a difficult time slot for a straight news reporter to take on, especially when up against opinion and commentary competition like TUCKER CARLSON at Fox News and RACHEL MADDOW at MSNBC.

A spokesperson for Cuomo did not get back to us by the time Playbook went out.

COMEDY CLUB — The Gridiron Club met last night for a members-and-spouses-only dinner at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown D.C., where two marquee-name politicians — former New Jersey Gov. CHRIS CHRISTIE and Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) — skewered themselves, each other, the audience and two men who were not in attendance: DONALD TRUMP and President JOE BIDEN . Playbook obtained a recording of the speeches at the closed-door event, and can share some of the night’s best jokes:

— Christie on the path forward for the GOP: “I’m hopeful for the future of my party. I mean, just look at Virginia … GLENN YOUNGKIN won the governor’s race … by benefitting from the Trump name without ever standing in the same room as him. You know who he learned that strategy from? MELANIA TRUMP, actually.”

— Christie on being invited: “When [President Biden] couldn’t make it, he did think about inviting Vice President [KAMALA] HARRIS to share the stage with you. But he decided that it would be redundant, given that Jamie and I are here, to have three people who are never going to be president speak.”

— Raskin on Christie’s critique of Trump: “I’m a big fan of your work, governor. At a time when Donald Trump has turned your party into an authoritarian cult of personality, only one Republican with a national profile has had the guts to stand up to this demagogue to try to ‘rescue the party,’ as you put it in your new book. So, from the bottom of my heart, I want to say: Thank you, LIZ CHENEY."

— Raskin on the House GOP: “I try not to mention Liz Cheney’s name in public, because she drives MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE and LAUREN BOEBERT berserk — although, admittedly, that's a pretty short trip.”

— Christie on Trump, part I: “I joke about Donald. But, I’m still really proud to have provided some help to his administration. I mean, I gave DONALD TRUMP my undying loyalty, and as we learned this week, he definitely gave me Covid."

— Christie on Trump, part II: “I was a little worried that Donald would be upset when he read [my new book]. But then I remembered: It’s a book; no chance."

— Raskin on the anemic sales of Christie’s book: "I encourage everyone here to check out the governor's book, which you can still be the first to order on Amazon."

— Christie, on the BIF: “I’m kidding a little bit with Joe and Kamala … I’m supportive of some of the things they’ve actually done. Let’s take the bipartisan infrastructure bill, for instance. It’s badly needed. If you think I don’t know it, believe me, I do: You should see the way the bridges get backed up in New Jersey.”

— Raskin working the crowd, part I: “I see the great ALAN GREENSPAN is with us tonight. … I was going to ask the amazing ANDREA MITCHELL if we could find out what it’s like to be Alan Greenspan’s one true love, but she said AYN RAND wasn’t available.”

— Raskin working the crowd, part II: “This crowd looks like Bingo Night at Leisure World. You make NANCY PELOSI's leadership team look like lunch time at Hogwarts."

— Christie on stage fright: “You get a little bit nervous when you’re speaking in front of so many people who help to shape public opinion. But I have an antidote for that: For me, at least, I just get on stage, close my eyes … and pretend all of you are MARCO RUBIO.”

Good Sunday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.

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THREE TOP SUNDAY READS

— The threat to Roe v. Wade may not boost the Democrats chances in the upcoming midterm elections, David Siders writes : “Interviews with more than a dozen Democratic strategists, pollsters and officials reveal skepticism that the court’s decision will dramatically alter the midterm landscape unless — and perhaps not even then — Roe is completely overturned. Privately, several Democratic strategists have suggested the usefulness of any decision on abortion next year will be limited, and some may advise their clients not to focus on abortion rights at all.” Related: Nick Niedzwiadek and Michael Cadenhead compare what the justices said about abortion rights on Wednesday to what they said in their confirmation hearings.

— Almost four months after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the country is in the midst of a devastating period of “mass starvation that aid groups say threatens to kill a million children this winter — a toll that would dwarf the total number of Afghan civilians estimated to have been killed as a direct result of the war over the past 20 years,” NYT’s Christina Goldbaum reports from Shah Wali Kot . “This winter, an estimated 22.8 million people — more than half the population — are expected to face potentially life-threatening levels of food insecurity, according to an analysis by the United Nations World Food Program and Food and Agriculture Organization. Of those, 8.7 million people are nearing famine — the worst stage of a food crisis.”

— If you read one thing today about this week’s school shooting in Oxford Twp., Mich., make it this collaborative effort by a team of reporters with the Detroit Free Press , which traces the community on Tuesday, before and after the tragedy that left four teenagers dead. You get a glimpse of the terror faced by students, and the stomach-churning experience of parents that day. (One unforgettable detail comes from a mother whose daughter calls her while hiding in the school’s bathroom. The call drops, and the mom makes the agonizing decision that she shouldn’t call her back: If the girl’s phone isn’t on silent, it could tip off the gunman to her whereabouts.) It’s a peek into an experience that is, tragically, all too common in modern American life, and the many ways it ripples throughout an entire community.

SUNDAY BEST

— Rep. ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.) on CNN’s “State of the Union,” on how Pelosi is handling Boebert’s recent Islamophobic comments: “I have had a conversation with the speaker, and I'm very confident that she will take decisive action next week. As you know, when I first got to Congress, I was worried that I wasn't going to be allowed to be sworn in because there was a ban on the hijab. She promised me that she would take care of it. She fulfilled that promise. She's made another promise to me that she will take care of this. And I believe her.” More from Maeve Sheehey

— Sen. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa) on “Fox News Sunday,” on the Senate taking action against Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN: “Democrats are concerned, Republicans are concerned. And what we don't want to do is allow President Putin to continue with the pipeline, especially as he is preparing, perhaps, to invade Ukraine. So, we do have to push back on that. And I think that there is a large group of United States senators that will push back on Vladimir Putin.”

— Sen. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-Minn.) on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” on how Congress could address abortion rights: “The answer may well be doing it through the political process now. I don't think that's the right thing to do. But it may be the way to do it. And I think the best way to do it is not a patchwork of state laws, but to codify Roe v. Wade, put it into law, and we even have some pro-choice Republicans that have signaled interest in doing that.”

— Sen. MIKE BRAUN (R-Ind.) on “Meet the Press,” on abortion rights: “When it comes to issues like this that divide our country in a way to where we're never going to get to 60 votes on any of this stuff, I think the practical solution is when it’s not enumerated, return it to the states.”

BIDEN’S SUNDAY:

— 12:30 p.m.: The Bidens will arrive at the White House.

— 5 p.m.: The Bidens will host the Kennedy Center honorees reception in the East Room, where Biden will deliver remarks, with the vice president and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF also attending.

— 7 p.m.: The Bidens, Harris and Emhoff will attend the Kennedy Center Honors.

BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now.

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Secretary of State Anthony Blinken talks with 2021 Kennedy Center honoree Lorne Michaels before the class photo with fellow honorees Justino Díaz, bottom left, and Joni Mitchell, bottom right, at the Library of Congress on Saturday, Dec. 4. | Kevin Wolf/AP Photo

THE WHITE HOUSE

RUSSIAN AROUND — Biden and Putin are set for a video call on Tuesday, the two countries said on Saturday. AP’s Dasha Litvinova, Aamer Madhani and Colleen Long set the table: “Biden will press U.S. concerns about Russian military activities on the border and ‘reaffirm the United States’ support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,’ White House press secretary JEN PSAKI said Saturday, confirming the planned call after first word came from Moscow. Putin will come to the call with concerns of his own and intends to express Russia’s opposition to any move to admit Ukraine into the NATO military alliance.”

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

REFORM EYED FOR ELECTORAL COUNT ACT — In an effort to avert another Jan. 6-style crisis for American democracy, the House’s Jan. 6 select committee is “pressing to overhaul the complex and little-known law that former President Donald J. Trump and his allies tried to use to overturn the 2020 election, arguing that the ambiguity of the statute puts democracy itself at risk,” NYT’s Luke Broadwater and Nick Corasaniti write . “The push to rewrite the Electoral Count Act of 1887 — enacted more than a century ago in the wake of another bitterly disputed presidential election — has taken on new urgency in recent weeks as more details have emerged about the extent of Mr. Trump’s plot to exploit its provisions to cling to power.”

THE PANDEMIC

THE OMICRON REALITY — Why exactly is the Omicron variant more infectious? It’s “likely to have picked up genetic material from another virus that causes the common cold in humans, according to a new preliminary study, prompting one of its authors to suggest omicron could have greater transmissibility but lower virulence than other variants of the coronavirus,” WaPo’s Amy Cheng writes.

TRUMP CARDS

WHO’S BACKING TRUMP’S SOCIAL PLAY — Trump’s new social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, “and its special purpose acquisition company partner say the partner has agreements for $1 billion in capital from institutional investors,” per the AP . “The institutional investors were not identified in a press release issued Saturday by Trump Media and Digital World. The money would come from ‘a diverse group’ of investors after the two companies are combined, it said.”

CONGRESS

WHEN WILL THE PUBLIC BE BACK? — Even as much of the D.C. area reopens amid the pandemic, it’s an open question when the U.S. Capitol will follow suit. “Almost 21 months into the coronavirus pandemic, the Capitol remains sealed off from the general public,” WaPo’s Paul Kane writes. “Even as public venues around Washington and across the nation have moved into a new normal with new safety measures, no one is sure when the public will be back inside the Capitol.” It’s a result of both consultations between the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms and health officials, and of post-Jan. 6 security considerations.

ALL POLITICS

ABRAMS’ GAMBIT — As STACEY ABRAMS embarks on another run for the Georgia governorship, she is taking up the mantle of a party that looks a bit different than the one she had behind her last time. “The Georgia voters who might change their minds are mostly college-educated suburbanites. But Democrats argue most Georgia voters are fixed in their partisan preferences, and the key is getting your side to vote,” AP’s Jeff Amy writes. “Abrams and her supporters argue that outreach and a focus on issues will be more important than national headwinds.”

— And the stakes in Georgia are higher than ever for Dems: “Sen. RAPHAEL G. WARNOCK (D-Ga.) is also fighting to hang onto the seat he won 11 months ago in a special election, becoming Georgia’s first Black senator. And a handful of other competitive congressional and state races could reshape politics in Georgia and control of Washington,” WaPo’s Tim Craig and Vanessa Williams write . “Taken together, these high-profile 2022 races will offer the third recent test of whether Democrats’ dominance among Black and Hispanic voters can blunt Trump-era Republican gains with rural White voters in this state. The results could offer the best indication of whether Democrats can have lasting success in the state.”

THE VOTING RIGHTS BATTLE — Republicans in statehouses across the country are set to further push voting rights legislation in 2022 as they aim to reshape the electoral landscape ahead of the midterms. “After passing 33 laws of voting limits in 19 states this year, Republicans in at least five states — Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma and New Hampshire — have filed bills before the next legislative sessions have even started that seek to restrict voting in some way, including by limiting mail voting,” NYT’s Nick Corasaniti reports . “In many places, Democrats will be largely powerless to push back at the state level, where they remain overmatched in Republican-controlled legislatures.”

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

SNEAK PEEK — NBC’s Jacob Ward has a report on tonight’s “Nightly News” about “how the rise of electric cars like Tesla is endangering one of the last frontiers in the Philippines. The investigation will reveal how a mine that supplies nickel for electric vehicle batteries is on the verge of a major expansion into a pristine rainforest.” The report will air at 6:30 p.m. and is part of a weeklong series, “Rescuing the Rainforest,” featuring reporting in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network. Watch the 52-second preview here

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

BOOK CLUB — Lit Hub has an exclusive excerpt from “The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It,” ($28) by Mark Bowden and Matthew Teague with an intriguing headline: “Stealing Georgia: Trump Gets Desperate, Kanye’s Publicist Shows Up on Ruby Freeman’s Doorstep, and… 28,000 Missing Votes?”

OUT AND ABOUT — On Friday evening, neighborhood regulars, Hill staff, political operatives and reporters gathered at Tune Inn, the iconic Hill mainstay, to say farewell to longtime manager Stephanie Hulbert, who is leaving to grow her pop up business, A Presto Italian Foods.

— SPOTTED at Cafe Milano on Saturday night: Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler and Kenan Thompson. SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels was among the honorees for the 44th annual Kennedy Center Honors this weekend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) … Axios’ Roy Schwartz … NYT’s Mike Grynbaum … Evan Burfield … Jamie Rhoades of Quartus Strategies … Khorri Atkinson … WaPo’s Rachel van Dongen … Gray Johnson … POLITICO’s Liz Crampton and Jessica Calefati … Jeremy Thompson … Mike Platt of Platt Strategic Consulting … Ruiyong Chen … GOP fundraiser Lisa Spies of the LS Group … Anthony Bedell … Brai Odion-Esene of SW4 Insights … Ari Drennen … NBC’s Billy Koch … Anne Trenolone … Vanessa Schoning of Rep. Dina Titus’ (D-Nev.) office … Eli Miller … former Reps. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) and Rodney Alexander (R-La.) … Jamie McCourt … Stuart Brotman … Moira Mack Muntz … Nicole Drummond … Calvin Trillin

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