New York Republican Assemblywoman Elise Stefanik and former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo got into a heated exchange Tuesday over Cuomo's responsibility for nursing home deaths that occurred during COVID-19 lockdowns.
The House Oversight Committee's Select COVID-19 Subcommittee held a hearing to hear testimony from Governor Cuomo about nursing home response following reports that they undercounted patient deaths. Stefanik said the committee's investigation found that Governor Cuomo and senior aides made an “intentional decision” to “omit” certain information about deaths.
“And for the people, Governor Cuomo changed the way nursing home deaths were counted, excluding deaths outside of nursing homes, resulting in an undercount. I want to know how long you've been negotiating the book deal,” Stefanik asked.
The former governor fired back, questioning the facts of her statements, but Stefanik continued to press Cuomo, again asking about his book deal, to which he dodged the question. (RELATED: Andrew Cuomo says Trump civil fraud lawsuit 'should never have been filed')
“Governor, you're victimizing your staff. You're the one taking responsibility for this. My question for you is, when were you negotiating millions of dollars in advance contracts on your books while seniors were dying in nursing homes?” Stefanik said.
“Congressman, you can't manufacture facts,” Cuomo responded.
Stefanik then accused Cuomo of “falsifying the facts” and called on him to “turn around” and “look eye to eye” with the families of the nursing home fatalities and “apologise” for what he “failed to do.”
clock:
“This isn't political theater, this is about getting answers. Why did 1.2 million Americans die? Why did more Americans die than any other country? [other country] “Around the world,” Cuomo began.
“No, no, no, no! You are a former governor who was disgraced under oath,” Stefanik said. “This is about seniors, Governor. They should listen to your apology. You negotiated a multi-million dollar book deal. This is a disgrace. There is a reason you are a former Governor of the state of New York and can never hold public office again. I concede.”
Governor Cuomo issued an order in March 2020 prohibiting nursing homes from turning away anyone diagnosed with COVID-19. The Daily Caller News Foundation first reported in May 2020 that the governor's administration had changed the classification system to intentionally undercount the number of nursing home deaths.
As an independent, nonpartisan news service, all content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation is available free of charge to any legitimate news publisher with a large readership. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and affiliation with the DCNF. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
