NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 14: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks at a news conference at his office in Midtown Manhattan, September 14, 2018 in New York City. Cuomo chose his primary victory of the night, as well as a series of other topics. (Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images) | Drew Angerer / Getty Images
ALBANY, NY – New York Republicans on Thursday night assaulted Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s government in response to new revelations about his stonewalling of leaking information about deaths in nursing homes, and several have asked him to resign or be arrested.
The New York Post reported that top government official Melissa DeRosa told a Democratic state legislature on Wednesday that the government was “frozen” when asked to release information on the number of residents of the nursing home that died of Covid-19. A March commission from Cuomo calling on nursing homes to admit patients who tested positive for the coronavirus is blamed for contributing to high mortality rates.
DeRosa said the government was resisting the release of data because of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to turn the tragedy ‘into a giant political football’, according to the Post. ‘Because then we were in a position where we were not sure whether what we would give to the Department of Justice, or what we would give to you, what we were going to say, would be used against us while we were not. “We do not know if there will be an investigation,” DeRosa was quoted as saying by the Post.
Nearly every top Republican in the state voiced the Post’s report, subjecting Cuomo to a barrage of criticism that was unparalleled at any point in his tenure.
“For more than six months, day after day, Governor Cuomo stood in the briefing after the briefing in front of New Yorkers and lied about his prescription that contributed to the deaths of thousands of elderly people,” said Dutch Molecca CEO Marc Molinaro , Cuomo’s challenger of 2018 said. “In the coming days he will try to convince us cynically that it was for our own good – that it was someone else’s fault. That’s another lie. What is true is that Andrew Cuomo has proved our trust unworthy and unfit. for public office. “
“Prosecution and accusation must begin immediately,” said GOP chairman Nick Langworthy. “If the governor is involved, he should be removed from office immediately,” said state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt. A rep. Tom Reed (RN.Y.) called on other members of Congress to conduct an “independent and thorough investigation by Biden’s Justice Department into Governor Cuomo and the State of New York.”
Numerous Democrats have attacked Cuomo following the recent release of a report by State Attorney General Tish James, in which it was stated that the governor had counted down the number of deaths. So far, however, the leaders of the State Legislature have avoided waging war with Cuomo by issuing summonses or reducing his emergency power.
Some Democrats who were Cuomo’s biggest critics joined Republicans in responding to the Post article: ‘You’re just sorry you were all caught,’ tweeted State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-Westchester). “As a result of your decisions, thousands of people have died who do not have to die.”
Cuomo’s adviser Rich Azzopardi responded to the Post’s report in a statement to the newspaper that he had tweeted afterwards: ‘We have explained that the Trump administration is in the midst of a politically motivated attempt to blame [Democratic] declared for COVID deaths and that we had cooperated with federal document productions and that this was the priority and now that it is over, we can address the state legislature. ”