In the spring of 2020, Democrats fell in love with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his response to the global pandemic.
Overnight it seemed, he became their political heartthrob.
Some voters even wanted him to replace Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate.
But we’ve come a long way since then, and with the latest bombshell New York Post report Cuomo is in trouble. Big trouble.
It’s what critics have known for a long time — but now it can be proven.
According to Cuomo’s secretary, Melissa DeRosa, the New York governor hid thousands of nursing home deaths from former President Donald Trump and the Department of Justice.
The exclusive report proves the Cuomo administration covered-up that their handling of coronavirus patients led to more deaths.
Attacks by then-President Trump had pressured the Cuomo team.
“He [Trump] starts tweeting that we killed everyone in nursing homes,” DeRosa said, referencing the ways in which Trump went after Democratic governors at the time.
Couple that with a DoJ investigation ordered by Trump, and the Cuomo team started hiding facts.
“… we froze,” DeRosa admitted.
“Because then we were in a position where we weren’t sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us while we weren’t sure if there was going to be an investigation.”
In other words, the administration lied.
Cuomo and his team have long been accused of hiding the true number of nursing home deaths — ever since his directive to shove excess COVID-19 patients into senior homes when the hospitals ran out of room.
Now, Republicans want Congress and the federal investigators to pursue potential charges.
New York official Marc Molinaro — who lost a gubernatorial challenge to Cuomo in 2018 — came down hard on the liberal star.
“For over six months, day after day, in briefing after briefing, Governor Cuomo stood before New Yorkers and lied about his directive that contributed to the deaths of thousands of seniors,” he said.
“In the coming days, he will cynically try to convince us that it was for our own good — that it was someone else’s fault. This is another lie. What is true, is Andrew Cuomo has proved himself unworthy of our trust, and unfit for public office.”
And others, like state lawmakers Rob Ortt and Tom Reed, are calling for something much more serious.
“If the Governor is involved, he should be immediately removed from office,” Ortt said.
From potential president to impeached as governor.
Ouch.
The Horn editorial team