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Chris Cuomo and legal eagle Mark Geragos are ganging up against CNN, Page Six has learned.
Cuomo, of course, was canned by the news network for allegedly giving advice to his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, during a sexual misconduct scandal while Chris was supposed to be covering said scandal as a journalist.
Meanwhile, Geragos was a contributor to the network for some 20 years but got summarily booted after he was named as a co-conspirator in the famed extortion case against jailed lawyer Michael Avenetti. (Geragos was later cleared of the allegation.) He branded CNN a “lame-ass,” “know-nothing network” after the ouster.
Now sources tell Page Six that the former “Chris Cuomo: Prime Time” host has hired his longtime pal — who has represented everyone from Winona Ryder and Colin Kaepernick to Michael Jackson and Jussie Smollett — to represent him in his $125 million dismissal case against CNN.
We’re told that he picked Geragos because “he’s a good lawyer” and because they both have an ax to grind. “If nothing else, they’re going to have some fun,” said an insider.
Sources say Geragos is plotting to call in some central figures for depositions in the coming weeks, including former CNN president Jeff Zucker and Zucker’s now-girlfriend and longtime mistress (and former public relations chief) Allison Gollust.
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In 2019, court papers referred to an unidentified co-conspirator in Avenatti’s scheme to squeeze $20 million from Nike, and several outlets later named Geragos as the alleged aide.
The network quickly dumped him.
“They ought to change their name to the ‘Cut and Run Network,’” Geragos said on “The Adam Carolla Show” days later. “I’ve been texted by all of their anchors who are as outraged as I am that after 20 years, a press conference is enough to have them immediately want to disassociate themselves.”
He called CNN the “Know-Nothing Network” and added, “God forbid that I start telling some of the stories for how I’ve covered for that lame-ass organization.”
After Chris was fired in March last year, he filed court papers that read, “As a result of [the network’s] indefensible choice to unceremoniously fire him, [Chris] has been damaged in countless ways.
“[Chris] has had his journalistic integrity unjustifiably smeared, making it difficult if not impossible for Chris to find similar work in the future and damaging him in amounts exceeding $125 million.”
He was being represented in that action by Freedman + Taitelman and Clayman Rosenberg, but it’s not clear if Geragos is replacing that team as Chris’ counsel or joining it.
Geragos has also been appearing regularly on Cuomo’s new home network, News Nation.
Cuomo and Freeman + Taitelman didn’t get back to us. A rep for Geragos declined to comment.
