The FBI and the Eastern District of New York US Attorney’s office have opened an investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s handling of nursing homes amid the coronavirus pandemic, sources said. The probe is examining the Cuomo administration’s actions relating to the nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to two sources familiar with the matter. In its early-stages, the investigation is focusing on some senior members of Cuomo’s coronavirus task force, according to The Times Union, which first reported its existence. Cuomo’s administration has faced fierce criticism for a since-rescinded March 25 state Health Department directive ordering nursing homes to admit infected patients being discharged from hospitals.
Cuomo said 'he can destroy me': NY assemblyman alleges governor threatened him over nursing homes scandalDescribing an alleged exchange with the governor that has not been previously reported, Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim told CNN that he received a call on his cell phone from the governor last week as he was bathing his children at home.
"Gov. Cuomo called me directly on Thursday to threaten my career if I did not cover up for Melissa [DeRosa] and what she said. He tried to pressure me to issue a statement, and it was a very traumatizing experience," Kim said.
Cuomo proceeded to tell the assemblyman that "we're in this business together and we don't cross certain lines and he said I hadn't seen his wrath and that he can destroy me," according to Kim.
Cuomo's adviser denied that the governor threatened to destroy Kim. DeRosa is a top aide to the governor who came under fire last week after she told state lawmakers in a private virtual meeting that the state had delayed sharing with the legislature the full scope of the Covid-related death toll of New York's nursing home residents because of concerns about a potential federal investigation by the Department of Justice. (The governor's office has since released a partial transcript of the call.)
Kim, a progressive representing Queens who has been among the most vocal critics of Cuomo's handling of nursing homes during the pandemic and believes his own uncle died from a presumed case of Covid in a nursing home last year, participated in that virtual call.
During the meeting, Kim said he called on the governor to apologize to family members of those who died in assisted living facilities.
When the New York Post first reported on DeRosa's controversial comments, he was one of the participants quoted in the piece criticizing those remarks. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Covid-19 controversy, explained New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo's Covid-19 controversy, explained "No man has ever spoken to me like that in my entire life," Kim said of his phone call with Cuomo. "At some point he tried to humiliate me, asking: 'Are you a lawyer? I didn't think so. You're not a lawyer.' It almost felt like in retrospect he was trying to bait me and anger me and say something inappropriate. I'm glad I didn't."
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