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NEW YORK (Dagbladet): When New York was the epicenter of the corona pandemic last spring, Cuomo was hailed as a leader internationally for acting clearly and openly. But in recent months, he has received massive criticism for trying to cover up how many died of corona at the state nursing home.
On Monday, he finally admitted that his office should not withhold data from state politicians and the public.
More than 15,000 people have died of COVID-19 in nursing homes and similar institutions in New York. But as recently as January, Cuomo’s office claimed the number was just 8,500, Reuters reports.
55 died in a nursing home
Investigated
But Cuomo has not apologized for this to other state assembly politicians, who have tried to question and criticize him. On the contrary, it should be strongly rejected.
Now, several elected representatives in the state assembly of his own party are trying to rebel and deprive Cuomo of the powers he received at the beginning of the pandemic. This is happening at the same time that the FBI and the federal attorney general in the Eastern District of New York have begun an investigation into Cuomo’s handling, writes the New York Times.
– Threatened
On Thursday of last week, Cuomo is said to have called Democratic state politician Ron Kim on his mobile phone.
– Governor Cuomo called me directly Thursday to threaten to ruin my career if I didn’t cover up for Melissa (DeRosa, Cuomo’s close adviser. Journ.anm.) And what she said. He tried to pressure me to submit a statement and it was a very traumatic experience, Kim told CNN.
Here you will soon be able to drink beer
It is said that Cuomo spoke loudly and was furious.
– He told me that we are in this together and that there are certain limits that we do not cross, and he said that he had not seen his anger and that he could destroy me, says Kim.
Kim gives the same description to the New York Times.
Uncle died
Cuomo’s adviser, Melissa DeRosa, denies that the governor threatened to destroy Kim. She was the one who last week contributed to the information that the deaths surfaced. In a meeting with other elected officials in the state assembly, DeRosa said the state had been slow to share all the numbers for fear of a possible federal investigation by the Justice Department of Donald Trump.
Kim is a progressive politician representing Queens. He has also been one of the staunchest critics of how Cuomo handled the threat of infection against nursing homes in the state, and is among the elected representatives who now want to strip Cuomo of pandemic powers.
Kim also says her own uncle died in a nursing home from coronary heart disease last year.
– No man had ever spoken to me like that in my entire life. At one point, he tried to humiliate me. He asked: Are you a lawyer? I do not believe it. You are not a lawyer. In hindsight, I felt like he was trying to entice and arouse me into saying something inappropriate. “I’m glad I didn’t,” Kim told CNN.
He was afraid of being infected in the White House.
Kim’s wife also tells the TV station that she heard parts of the phone call. She describes Cuomo as “loud” and “angry”.
– The governor threatened to ruin my life, Kim is said to have told my spouse after the conversation.
– Lying
Over the weekend, the governor is said to have tried to contact Kim several times. The state politician has now hired a lawyer to handle communication with the governor.
However, Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi claims that Cuomo only called to ask Kim to clarify his comments. He also insists that Cuomo never said he would “destroy” Kim and describes the conversation as “quiet.”
– Mr. Kim is lying about the conversation with Governor Cuomo on Thursday night. I know this because I was one of three people in the room when the conversation took place. At no time did anyone threaten to “destroy” anyone with their “anger” or ask someone to participate in a cover-up operation, Azzopardi told the New York Times.
