CNN has suspended Chris Cuomo indefinitely after new transcripts revealed the extent to which he helped his brother, Andrew Cuomo

• CNN suspended Chris Cuomo after the release of documents about his efforts to help his brother.
• Cuomo had a bigger role than was known in guiding Andrew Cuomo amid sexual-harassment claims.

CNN has suspended its anchor Chris Cuomo indefinitely after newly released transcripts appeared to show Cuomo used media sources to try to help his brother, Andrew Cuomo, during the politician's sexual-harassment scandal.

The New York attorney general's office released the transcripts this week. Some indicated that Chris Cuomo used media sources to look up information about a woman who accused Andrew Cuomo, then New York's governor, of sexual harassment.

The new documents, found by the office of New York's attorney general, Letitia James, include text-message conversations between Chris Cuomo and Melissa DeRosa, the governor's former top aide.

"The New York Attorney General's office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo's involvement in his brother's defense," a representative for the network said in a statement. "The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions."

"When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother's staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly," the representative continued. "But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put his family first and job second. However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother's efforts that we previously knew."

The person added: "As a result we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation."

Chris Cuomo wrote in one text message that he had "a lead on the wedding girl," referring to Anna Ruch.

Before Andrew Cuomo resigned as governor in August, Ruch was the subject of a New York Times exposé from March detailing unwanted advances she said he made on her at a wedding.

Chris Cuomo had publicly acknowledged coaching his brother through the sexual-harassment scandal and apologized while effectively recusing himself from covering one of the year's most explosive political stories.

A graduate of The Albany Academy, Yale University, and the Fordham University School of Law, Cuomo started out appearing as a guest on cable and TV networks before landing his first full-time gig in the industry as a correspondent for Fox News. He was also the coanchor of "Good Morning America" on ABC from 2006 until 2009.