'Enthralled' Bari Weiss courts fired CNN star as struggling CBS News eyes massive shakeup

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss has been quietly courting fired CNN anchor Chris Cuomo to join her fledgling network.

In a Friday episode of Power Lines, media reporters Oliver Darcy and Jon Passantino revealed that Weiss has her sights set on Cuomo as a big-name acquisition for CBS News, whose ratings have been plummeting.

Cuomo is currently working for NewsNation, where he hosts his own prime-time show. He was fired by CNN in December 2021 after an investigation by the New York Attorney General revealed that he used his media sources to help his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, amid sexual harassment allegations.

"This is kind of a curious one," Passantino said about the move. "Bari Weiss has been just enthralled with him, thinking apparently out loud that he's a very skilled broadcaster and somebody that she would like to have join the team."

Passantino noted that Weiss has been "shuffling a lot of desk chairs on that Titanic over there" at CBS News. Correspondents and producers at '60 Minutes,' the flagship program at CBS News, have been leaving or getting axed, and Weiss recently brought on former New York Times conservative columnist Ross Douthat.

"Apparently Weiss and Cuomo have even met in person about this," Passantino said, noting the meeting may have been "just another general conversation." However, the two have "even exchanged some texts," Passantino said.

Darcy confirmed, "Bari is definitely interested in bringing Chris Cuomo over to CBS News. There's no doubt about that...they did have a meal together," and "They exchanged texts, I'm told, fairly often with each other."

However, Darcy also noted that Cuomo is in a multi-year contract with NewsNation to stay on until 2028. On top of that, Cuomo is suing CNN for $125 million because of his firing, and Paramount-Skydance, the company that owns CBS News, is trying to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN. The merger has been held up by a judge after a dozen state attorneys general sued, though.

"It would be super uncomfortable," Darcy said about Cuomo coming on while suing CNN. "Just think about how totally wild that would be that she brings on somebody who is actively suing CNN."