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Former Governor George Pataki landed on Governor Andrew Cuomo, calling the scandal a ‘cover-up’ of the death of a COVID-19 nursing home “one of the worst things I have seen in the government of ‘State.”
In an AM 570 WMCA radio interview, Pataki called the policies and actions of Cuomo’s nursing homes “inhumane,” “objectionable,” “outrageous,” “despicable” and “beyond pallor.” “.
He called for a criminal investigation by Biden’s Justice Department, State Attorney General Letitia James and an independent investigation by the state legislature.
“It’s one of the worst things I’ve seen in New York State government, and I’ve been following it for a long time,” Pataki said of the cover-up of deaths in nursing homes.
He also said the Legislature should curtail Cuomo’s emergency powers, which would “speed up” the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination and end Albany’s “micro-management”.
“You don’t have to worry about getting a million dollar fine or losing your license if you give someone in Category 2CW a vaccine as opposed to Category 2AB. It’s stupid micro-management, ”he said.
There is growing support among fellow Democrats who control the State Assembly and Senate to strip Cuomo of the powers they gave him last year to quickly respond to the deadly COVID-19 outbreak that followed. These powers expire on April 30.
Pataki said the Cuomo team and his health department only started showing clarity on the deaths in retirement homes after state attorney general Letitia James released a report scathing who revealed they had misled the public by underreporting coronavirus deaths among residents of facilities by 50% – all while excluding those who died. after being transported to hospitals.
A state judge also recently ordered Cuomo to release more comprehensive data on nursing home deaths after he said his administration illegally withheld the information for months at the Empire Center for Public Policy. The watchdog group has filed a legal demand for the numbers.
“We know they were hiding the death toll. It’s just despicable, ”Pataki said.
In May, Pataki slammed the state health department’s directive ordering nursing homes to admit or readmit recovering coronavirus patients discharged from hospitals during the height of the pandemic.
Critics noted that the policy had contributed to the spread of the deadly virus in facilities housing frail elderly people.
“In just a few weeks we were told there were just over 8,000 dead. Now we are told the number is over 13,000, ”Pataki said on Friday.
Pataki also described Cuomo’s selfish decision to publish a book about his COVID-19 leadership lessons just months after the start of the pandemic.
“Write a book about the quality of your leadership when in fact you know you are hiding thousands of deaths… Then continue this masquerade on the formidable response. It’s incomprehensible, ”said the former Republican governor.
Pataki, who led the state after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, said: “I was not there two months after the September 11 attack waving the flag and saying how did a great job.
“It wasn’t about me. These were everyone who responded – firefighters, construction workers, first responders, New Yorkers.
Pataki also tore up comments from Cuomo’s assistant chief Melissa DeRosa in a private meeting with state lawmakers on Wednesday about the refusal to release a full tally of nursing home deaths due of an ongoing federal investigation.
The damning numbers would be “used against us” by Trump’s Justice Department, she said. The Post first reported DeRosa’s explanation after obtaining an audio tape of the Zoom cat.
Pataki called his comments “a cover-up to avoid a possible criminal investigation.” It certainly smacks of obstruction of justice. “
He was also criticized by DeRosa’s apology to Democrats who complained that the stone wall over the nursing home’s death left them exposed to criticism from Republican opponents.
“The fact that the administration apologized to Democratic politicians for their embarrassment but never apologized to the people or the families of those who died – it is inhumane,” said Pataki, who has ruled from 1995 to 2006.
In a statement Friday morning, DeRosa said in his remarks, “I was explaining that when we received the DOJ investigation, we were to temporarily cancel the Legislature’s request to deal with the federal request first.
In response to Pataki, the governor’s office referred The Post to a statement released by DeRosa earlier on Friday.
“I was explaining that when we received the investigation from DOJ, we had to temporarily cancel the Legislative Assembly’s request. [for nursing home death data] process the federal request first. We informed the houses at the time, ”DeRosa said.
“We were complete and transparent in our responses to DOJ, and then immediately had to focus our resources on Wave 2 and vaccine rollout. As I said on a call with lawmakers, we were not able to respond to their request as quickly as anyone would have liked.
“But we are determined to be better partners in the future because we share the same goal of keeping New Yorkers as healthy as possible during the pandemic.”
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