Cuomo says ‘he can destroy me’: New York assembly member alleges governor threatened him over nursing home scandal

Kim, a progressive representing Queens who has been among the most vocal critics of Cuomo’s management of nursing homes during the pandemic and who believes his own uncle died of a suspected case of Covid at a nursing home on last year participated in this 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 contributors cited in the article criticizing the remarks.

“No man has ever talked to me like this in my life,” Kim said of her phone call with Cuomo. “At one point he tried to humiliate me by asking me, ‘Are you a lawyer? I didn’t think so. You are not a lawyer.’ In retrospect, it was almost as if he was trying to kill me. ‘attract, get angry and say something inappropriate. I’m glad I didn’t. ”

Kim’s wife told CNN she heard portions of Kim’s phone call with Cuomo last week, and described the governor as “loud” and “angry.” She said she heard Cuomo say, “Who do you think you are?” as well as the words “my anger” and that immediately after the phone call, her husband said to her: “The governor threatened to destroy my life”.

Cuomo’s efforts to reach Kim appeared to continue throughout the weekend. Kim said he received several calls from a “No Caller ID” number, followed by helpers messages from Cuomo saying the governor would like to speak to him again. Kim said he didn’t return the phone calls. He has since hired a lawyer, telling CNN he felt it was necessary after Cuomo’s first call, which made him feel the governor had asked him to lie about what happened during the ‘virtual call from last week. He said he had informed the governor’s office that any outreach should be done through his lawyer.

When CNN first contacted Cuomo’s office for comment on this story on Tuesday, communications director Peter Ajemian did not directly respond or deny Kim’s allegation of the governor’s threats in a written statement. Late Tuesday, Ajemian said the office would send out a clarifying statement. Eventually, the office sent a statement from Senior Advisor Rich Azzopardi late Wednesday morning that said, “Kim’s claim that the governor said he would ‘destroy’ him is false.”

“The governor has three witnesses to the conversation. The applicable words were to the effect: ‘I am from Queens too, and people always expect honor and integrity in politics,” “Azzopardi said.

Around the same time Azzopardi’s statement was sent to CNN, Cuomo began a previously scheduled coronavirus press conference and discussed his office’s “long and hostile relationship” with Kim.

Cuomo said Kim’s political animosity dates back to a 2015 bill to reform nail salons that the governor proposed and which Kim initially supported, but then opposed. Cuomo cited a New York Times report from this year that examined the financial contributions Kim received after changing her stance. In this article, one of Cuomo’s best associates criticized Kim.

Kim said on Wednesday that he “100%” stands by his claim that Cuomo threatened to destroy him. He said he didn’t remember Cuomo making a specific reference to Queens, but Cuomo asking him last week over the phone, “Mr. Kim, are you an honorable man?” before continuing to suggest that the honorable thing for Kim to do would be to issue a statement of support.

Kim also dismissed Cuomo’s suggestion that he had ulterior motives for criticizing Cuomo over nursing home-related Covid deaths, saying he was deeply disappointed with the governor’s handling of the matter during the pandemic. .

“There is no loss here. They have blood on their hands,” Kim said. “We are talking about his performance record over the past 10 months.”

Azzopardi’s statement also said Cuomo called Kim last week to challenge Kim’s comments in the original New York Post article, suggesting that Kim issue a new statement and that the assembly member agreed to do it. When no statement came, Azzopardi said, Cuomo’s office followed up and got no response.

Kim told CNN he had not agreed to release a new statement and that the original New York Post story had not misquoted and misinterpreted him.

Kim isn’t the only lawmaker to have received fierce revulsion and even threats from Cuomo and his top aides since last week, according to three other New York Democratic MPs. All spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation from the governor.

They said the administration had aggressively pressured lawmakers to speak out in support of its handling of nursing home-related deaths, and threats had been made against those considering voting. to strip Cuomo of his emergency powers.

All three lawmakers said they were aware of the governor’s outreach in which he clearly suggested or explicitly threatened political retaliation if they did not support him. One of them, a New York state senator who said he was not contacted by Cuomo but heard directly from several colleagues whom Cuomo contacted, said the governor threatened those colleagues with retaliation – including warning some that it could ruin their policy. career if they support Cuomo’s weakening executive powers.

In other cases, the administration has persisted in asking lawmakers to come out on Cuomo’s defense, including issuing statements of support for last week’s virtual meeting.

A member of the New York assembly said he overheard several colleagues who had received messages from the administration suggesting wording lawmakers could release after DeRosa’s controversial comments were made public. Members were encouraged to say the virtual call had been productive and lawmakers were reassured their requests for information would be prioritized in the future, according to the member of the assembly who described similar messages that several colleagues had received from members of the administration.

Cuomo has received a lot of bipartisan criticism over his handling of nursing home-related deaths during the pandemic. His office did not deny allegations that Cuomo threatened other New York lawmakers.

In a written statement to CNN, Ajemian, Cuomo’s communications director, did not deny that Cuomo had threatened other lawmakers.

Cuomo is re-elected next year.