The Biggest Cuomo Scandal
Four years have passed since he sentenced nursing home patients to death because of re-admittance orders, and he still won’t say he’s sorry.
There is an old proverb attributed to both ancient Greece and Chinese philosophers that says, “The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.” In the case of the Democrat political elite like former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, it’s taken four years to address his disastrous and awful decision to put elderly COVID-positive patients back in nursing homes, essentially sentencing the other vulnerable residents to infection and even death.
Back in 2020 when the pandemic was raging, leftists in both government and the mainstream media touted Cuomo as the governor doing the best job. (That was quickly proved false. Ron DeSantis of Florida did the best job far and away). Cuomo was lauded and given a book deal, from which he earned millions (he was ultimately ordered to return the money), to talk about how great he was at handling the pandemic. However, it wasn’t long before the nursing home scandal hit the news. Cuomo became a liability to the Democrat narrative, so they got rid of him via a sexual harassment scandal.
Well, it’s now 2024, and the wheels of justice have been slowly turning. This week, the former governor was summoned to testify to a House COVID panel about the nursing home re-admittance policies that resulted in thousands of deaths. He had already testified to the subcommittee in June and, according to some congressmen, came across as callous.
Cuomo continues to insist that the “must admit” order was given by a staff member, but ultimately it was the federal government’s fault for its guidance. That’s the narrative he propagated in his book as well.
However, according to the New York Post, “Lawmakers quibbled with that characterization, pointing out that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a subagency of US Health and Human Services, did not compel anything, unlike New York’s order.”
It should also be noted — as our Mark Alexander has — that “Cuomo and [Bill] de Blasio had the same information the CDC and other federal health agencies were providing the Trump administration’s CV19 Task Force. They knew that Dr. Anthony Fauci made clear the threat to older Americans: ‘It’s so clear that the overwhelming weight of serious disease and mortality is on those who are elderly and those with a serious comorbidity. … If you look at the weight of the data, the risk group is very, very clear.’”
Not only did Cuomo’s office draft the “must admit” order that led to the deaths of elderly New Yorkers, but he undercounted by over 50% when confronted with the death toll.
Throughout his testimony yesterday, Cuomo refused to look at the families who had lost loved ones because of his willful incompetence. It was Republican Congressman and doctor Rich McCormick (GA) who finally turned to the families and said, “I’ll say I’m sorry because people were put in nursing homes [and] there weren’t tests because there weren’t enough testing facilities.”
One of the family members broke into tears at the apology, saying: “[Cuomo] never looked at us. He never acknowledged us. I suppose I should have anticipated that, but there was never any humanity from him from the very beginning, and I think that that is his greatest downfall, is that he has no humanity whatsoever. He cares about himself and nobody else. [Had he] at the very beginning, expressed remorse, met with families, wrote condolence cards, made a phone call — instead of writing a $5 million book about himself — we wouldn’t be here.”
This is yet another crack in the former governor’s administration. When earning a reputation trumps the people you govern, horrors like his nursing home debacle occur.