Chris Cuomo worked to discredit Fox News 'weather bitch' Janice Dean over criticism of his brother: report

Close allies of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, including the ousted governor's top aide, and fired CNN anchor Chris Cuomo plotted to discredit Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean after she became an outspoken critic of the older Cuomo's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to reports.

Chris Cuomo allegedly schemed to ruin Dean's reputation, reportedly calling the TV host "that Fox weather bitch" in texts after she criticized Cuomo for transferring COVID-19 patients to nursing homes, the New York Post reported.

According to a New York Post source, the individual said Chris Cuomo, defensive of his brother, asked in a text to an Andrew Cuomo staffer how he could go after "this Fox weather bitch……Any help painting her as a far right crazy?"

Melissa DeRosa, who had served as secretary to the governor, was among the Andrew Cuomo aides who tried to craft a smear campaign against the Fox News personality, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC.

It still isn't clear whether the plan was executed or not. Andrew Cuomo himself was present during some of the strategy meetings where Dean was mentioned, according to CNBC. Dean's intense criticism of Cuomo stemmed from the 2020 deaths of her in-laws who died of COVID-19 in elder-care facilities.

Dean lambasted the Democrat state leader in a USA Today op-ed published in July 2020. "The fact that this governor refuses to accept responsibility for his actions makes our grief and anger far worse," Dean wrote as an opinion contributor last summer. "I know I speak for many when I say we need a nonpartisan investigation on both the state and federal level so that this never happens again."

Taking aim at Cuomo's handling of nursing home patients, Dean told CNBC in a statement: "As I have said from day one, this was never about politics. I watched first-hand how the governor's office treated grieving families trying to get answers about the Mar. 25 2020 executive order to admit over 9,000 COVID-positive patients into nursing homes. Instead of addressing our concerns or expressing their condolences, Cuomo’s spokesperson Rich Azzopardi called us a 'death cult' and told my sister in law to 'get a life' not long after both her parents died."

Earlier in the year, Andrew Cuomo spokesman Azzopardi dismissed Dean's attacks on the then-governor in a statement to the UK newspaper the Daily Mail: "Last I checked she's not a credible source on anything except maybe the weather."

Azzopardi denied to CNBC that the strategy sessions were focused on Dean.

"We had no 'strategy sessions' about Janice Dean and to the extent that the press office had to respond to something she said, it was handled by the press office and did not rise to the level of something the governor would be engaged with," Azzopardi told CNBC on Friday in an email, but later clarified in a follow-up text.

"I have no knowledge of this ever happening and you must ask, why then did the Attorney General not put anything about it in her report or ask any of the relevant people about it?" Azzopardi stated late Friday after the story was published.

Both of the Cuomo brothers have lost their prestigious positions this year. Andrew, the elder Cuomo, resigned as governor of New York amid repeated allegations of sexual harassment, and may still face related civil and criminal legal actions.

Chris Cuomo was fired from his position "effective immediately" at mainstream media giant CNN, after he was found to have violated the left-wing network's journalistic standards by using his influential media position to help his brother.