The battle between Chris Cuomo and CNN is just starting to heat up, with Cuomo claiming that CNN head Jeff Zucker knew all about the help that Chris was giving his brother on the sexual harassment allegations. Chris Cuomo has also reportedly hired attorneys and is preparing to sue CNN.

But Cuomo isn’t the only CNN anchor covered in scandal.

Cuomo’s best buddy, Don Lemon, got smacked in two ways today.

First, there were comments from the man who accused him of a sexual assault and battery back in 2018 in a bar in Long Island. Dustin Hice claims that Lemon “vigorously” rubbed his genitalia, then shoved his hand into Hice’s face under his mustache, while asking if he liked “p***y or d**k.”

In response to Chris Cuomo being fired, Hice said that CNN was “a predator protecting machine.” “They’re a network rife with predators and perverts,” Hice told Fox News. “Lemon will have to testify under oath in the near future, but it’s good to see that there’s finally some accountability happening.” Hice said he’d turned down settlement officers. “They’ve tried to grind me down, they’ve attempted to intimidate witnesses in my case, they’ve released confidential information about me in attempt to doxx me. They are complicit. This is who they are,” Hice said.

CNN has stood by Lemon so far in the case. But they also initially stood by Cuomo. Hice has a lawsuit against Lemon which is expected to be tried early next year.

But that isn’t all. Jussie Smollett may have just thrown Lemon under the bus during his testimony today. Smollett testified that he’d been in contact with Don Lemon during the early part of the Chicago Police Department’s investigation into the phony attack on him. He testified that one of the reasons he didn’t want to turn over his phone to the police during the investigation was because Don Lemon texted him that the Chicago Police didn’t believe his account of what happened. Lemon has already said that he was in constant contact with Smollett early on in the case and that the story was “personal” to him.

He also says he declined to give his phone to CPD in part because earlier he’d gotten a text from Don Lemon “saying he’d gotten a text from CPD saying they don’t believe me.”

objections, then a sidebar.

— Megan Crepeau (@crepeau) December 6, 2021

So why is Don Lemon tipping Smollett that the police don’t believe him? Was Lemon trying to pass on information that he knew in his media capacity to help Smollett? That would sound similar in some ways to what Chris Cuomo did. Why are CNN anchors becoming enmeshed with news subjects/subjects of criminal investigations? At least Lemon previously acknowledged to his audience that he had contact with Smollett. But again, if it’s someone he knows and he’s having conversations like that with him, that compromises Lemon’s objectivity, not that he ever cares about that.

Are there any CNN hosts NOT using their sources to secretly help criminals cover up their scandals? https://t.co/prCrwrXB3T

— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) December 6, 2021

CNN gonna need 2 need anchors… https://t.co/Mq263O0wfJ

— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) December 6, 2021