Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, RN.Y., said on Friday that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. was implicated in a “criminal corruption scandal” due to the underestimated count of deaths in COVID-19 nursing homes by his state.
In an interview with “The Story,” Stefanik said New York lawmakers needed to hold Cuomo accountable for what the state attorney general claimed was a significant underreporting of the death toll of New Yorkers in nursing homes. Cuomo, D., defended his policy as following federal guidelines at the time, but officials said those guidelines required strict standards for nursing homes to accept patients with positive coronavirus.
“This is the governor who pointed the finger at everyone. He pointed the finger at President Trump. He pointed the finger at the elderly themselves, in nursing homes, basically blaming everyone but himself,” said Stefanik.
NY UNDERCOUNTED NURSING HOME COVID-19 DEATH UP TO 50%, THE STATE AG SAYS
Stefanik also criticized the media and CNN in particular for his coverage of Cuomo, whose brother Chris Cuomo is a prime time anchorman and conducted numerous friendly interviews with the governor when the pandemic began.
“It’s a shame that CNN allows Chris Cuomo to simply invite his brother and do those ridiculous flattery interviews. It is a shame now for the media, ”she said.
REP. ELISE STEFANIK: “This is the governor who pointed the finger at everyone. He pointed the finger at President Trump. He pointed the finger at the elderly themselves in nursing homes, basically blaming everyone but himself. In terms to follow federal guidelines, it is very clear that Governor Cuomo made the decision to present his executive order on March 25 demanding that nursing homes accept patients with positive COVID, regardless of their ability to isolate these patients and have the appropriate PPE …
My thoughts are that this governor has avoided the truth for months and months and months. The reason this is a criminal corruption scandal and not just a nursing home scandal is that they have known for months what the real death count in nursing homes is [was], whether it was in a nursing home hospital, or an individual who died in the nursing home and they denied it to the public … There must be subpoenas issued immediately. Both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and State Assembly agreed to this …
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The tone is wrong. Journalists did not do their job. They flattered Governor Cuomo. They did not speak to ordinary New Yorkers who suffered under their failed leadership and, most importantly, they did not speak to New Yorkers who were defenders, who lost loved ones because of the failed policies of the governor’s nursing home. It’s a shame that CNN allows Chris Cuomo to simply invite his brother and do those ridiculous flattery interviews. It is an embarrassment now for the media. “