Governor Andrew Cuomo is coming under intensifying scrutiny as two serious scandals involving him and his administration unfold. The first scandal, also covered in an earlier post, was blown into the open back in January when the New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report which detailed the significant under counting of nursing home deaths in the state of New York by the Cuomo administration by as much as 50 percent. That report sparked a flurry of calls for investigation and even Cuomo’s resignation. Further evidence has now emerged that not only was the administration under counting deaths, but top aids to the governor deliberately removed the number of people who died from COVID-19 in nursing homes before the state released its COVID-19 July 2020 report. Melissa DeRosa, one of the governor's top aids, has also now admitted to doing this during a private conference call with Democrat lawmakers. The top aid to Governor Cuomo stated that the administration was concerned that the real number of nursing homes deaths at the time, which was 9,250 and was well exceeding the second highest number of nursing home deaths in New Jersey by 3,100 people, would prompt a federal investigation from Trump’s Justice Department. The governor wanted to avoid this type of inquiry at all costs as he was trying to maintain his image as a strong and competent leader of his state during the COVID-19 crisis.
On top of the nursing home deaths scandal, Governor Cuomo has also now been accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by two former state employees and another woman who the governor met at a wedding. Charlotte Bennett, former aide to the governor, accused him of inquiring about her sex and life in a one on one meeting in the governor's office last year. She state Cuomo asked her whether she had ever had romantic relationships with older men and whether she cared about large age differences in romantic relationships. Another former aid to the governor from 2015 to 2018, Lindsey Boylan, detailed several instances of inappropriate touching on her legs, back, and arms over several years by the governor. She also detailed an instance when the governor kissed her on the lips as she attempted to leave his office after a one on one meeting. A third woman, Anna Ruch, has also come out accusing the governor of sexual harassment at a 2020 wedding after he touched her low back without consent making her uncomfortable to the point she had to remove his hand with hers. She goes on to say that the governor seemed to take offense to her removal and stated that she was being “aggressive” after which he grabbed her cheeks with his hands and asked her to kiss him as he leaned closer. Ms. Ruch stated she has to pull away to avoid the governor’s advances. This interaction was captured on camera:
Even with both of these scandals reaching fever pitch
and bipartisan calls for Cuomo to resign his governorship, Cuomo seems to be
trying to ride it out. He offered an official apology
on Wednesday, March 3rd , but has refused to
resign. It will be interesting to see how and if is able to maintain his legitimacy
as governor as these scandals continue to unfold and as New York Attorney General
Letitia James opens an investigation
into the claims of sexual harassment.
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It is interesting to see the media cover this. I am happy to see that the allegations of sexual harassments are being taken seriously by "left-leaning" news sources - he needs to be held accountable.
ReplyDeleteYou know it's bad if the media is giving the "plandemic" a rest. They fear as least some to accusations are true and are in a panic to distance themselves from a predator!
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