New York, NY – EXCLUSIVE: New York Assemblyman Michael Montesano said he plans to ask the state legislature to consider impeaching Gov. Andrew Cuomo after his top aide admitted that their office would have obscured data on COVID-19 nursing home deaths to provide a probe of the Ministry of Justice. the matter.
“We’ve been calling for subpoenas and a hearing for quite some time,” Montesano, a Republican member of the state’s Oversight and Investigations Committee, told Fox News. “This news from the past few days is extremely worrying for me and I am going to ask for his resignation today and I am also going to ask the legislature to investigate whether articles of impeachment against the governor can be filed if he does not act.”
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Calls for a criminal investigation against Cuomo and his staff were launched after Melissa DeRosa, the governor’s secretary, told top New York Democrats on Thursday that the Cuomo government feared the data on COVID-19 deaths’ would be used against us. by the Justice Department in the middle of its federal investigation against four states regarding deaths in nursing homes, including New York, and so the government withheld the actual number of deaths.
“This is now a criminal,” said Montesano, a Republican representing District 15. “The governor wants to talk about how our attacks on him are political. They are not political, this we have suspected all along that they were covering things, and now she admitted that she was covering things because she knew the Justice Department. has an active investigation into the nursing home issues that have prompted many of us in the legislature, especially in the minority.
She hinders an investigation. This makes it even more troubling, ‘he added.
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“If I had to make an educated guess, I think she realizes that DOJ is doing an investigation, things might be getting close, and she wants to rid herself of all the harm she’s done if she covered something up and if she tries to make sure, ”Montesano said of De Rosa’s shocking confession, which she tried to back down in a statement released Friday.
US Representative Tom Reed, RN.Y., told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo that he plans to press charges against DeRosa to have her arrested.
Montesano said he supports the Congressman’s aggressive attempt to hold Cuomo and top staff to account, calling their behavior “very blatant.”
Cuomo had long been criticized for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic – in early 2020 after ordering nursing homes in the Empire State to take in patients who had or were suspected of having COVID-19. The decision sparked an attack of COVID-19 cases infecting thousands of elderly patients and resulted in hundreds of deaths among the state’s most vulnerable population.
In late January, New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed that Cuomo’s Department of Health reported too few COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50%.
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The New York Department of Health reported that on January 27, 2021, there were 5,957 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in nursing homes and an additional 2,783 presumed deaths. In assisted care facilities there were 160 deaths and 52 suspected deaths.
But on Wednesday, the state revealed that the number of deaths was, in fact, 15,049 residents in aged care settings (nursing homes and assisted living / adult care facilities), according to a letter from state commissioner for health Dr. Howard Zucker who was sent to the Democrats in the Senate.
New York lawmakers at the state and federal levels have increased pressure on the governor, calling for him to resign.
“Dismissal is one thing and I have to be honest with you, he’s too arrogant to do that. He’s for himself, not for these people, ”Montesano told Fox News.
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“Therefore, I ask if there is a possibility for impeachment under the New York State Constitution,” Montesano said. “It’s worth it for the legislature to investigate because this goes a long way.”
Republican Deputy Kieran Lalor also says he supports an investigation into Cuomo impeachment.
“Because of the massive loss of life, the cover of deaths in nursing homes is no worse than the crime. But the cover is still extremely bad,” Lalor said in a statement to Fox News. “It needs to be investigated whether Cuomo and his staff have hindered the US Justice Department.”
“Cuomo’s top assistant’s comments appear to be an admission of obstruction,” he added. “The public has a right to know how involved the governor was in the obstruction. Unfortunately, unlike California, New York does not have a mechanism by which citizens can directly attempt to remove a sitting chief executive. In New York, it is up to the people’s elected representatives. to use the impeachment process. Impeachment should be on the table. “