Analysis: GOP -- and some Dems -- pile on Cuomo after nursing home disclosure

Feb. 13—New York Republicans haven't had much to excite them over the last two years.

Voters drove them from their last stronghold in the State Senate, their registration numbers continue to lag, and Democrats controlling a scheduled reapportionment may aim to drive the state GOP into oblivion.

That changed Friday. Republicans — and even some Democrats — were fired into a frenzy when the New York Post reported that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's top aide apologized on Wednesday to Democratic legislators for withholding data indicating thousands more Covid-19 deaths of nursing home residents than the administration had previously acknowledged.

Suddenly, state Republicans seemed to sense a major vulnerability in Cuomo. The all-powerful Democratic governor — elected three times and an Albany fixture since the administration of his father, the late Gov. Mario M. Cuomo — had to issue explanations through his staff attaching its own interpretation of the Post story.

But even if the administration's protests were genuine, Cuomo and his lieutenants found themselves hunkered into a defensive mode like few times in his long career.

It all started when Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, privately told the group of Democrats on Wednesday that the state's failure to disclose some of the data was in reaction to a Department of Justice investigation of Covid-19 deaths in New York nursing homes. But state legislators had been seeking the same information since August, and were told by DeRosa the administration "froze" because it was unsure of information to be sent to the investigators of former President Trump'sDOJ, the Post reported, and didn't want information sought by legislators to be fodder against it.

But the reaction Friday to DeRosa's comments was swift and furious. State GOP Chairman Nicholas A. Langworthy told reporters in downtown Buffalo that the "gravity of this coverup cannot be overstated" and called not only for Cuomo's impeachment, but his prosecution for obstruction of justice, too.

"The Cuomo administration purposely lied and withheld evidence and information to avoid prosecution," an animated Langworthy said of the federal probe, labeling the situation a "conspiracy of Nixonian proportions."

State Conservative Chairman Gerard Kassar followed, suggesting Cuomo should resign and charging "the governor's blatant deceit is now laid bare for all to see."

Senate Minority Leader Robert C. Ortt of North Tonawanda recognized a possible short-term consequence, calling for the Legislature to strip Cuomo of his emergency powers stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic and a "thorough, top-to-bottom investigation into the entire administration."

From Washington, where Cuomo was visiting President Biden at the White House on Friday, all eight Republican members of Congress (including Reps. Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park and Tom Reed of Corning) joined the pile-on. They called on the Justice Department to investigate Cuomo and his administration.

"The mountain of evidence, lies, and criminal conduct cannot be ignored any longer," said Reed, a frequent Cuomo critic and potential GOP candidate for governor in 2022.

Added Jacobs: "This is now not only an investigation into the true toll of his disastrous directive, but a criminal investigation into obstruction of justice. This new reporting details willful corruption of the highest degree and represents one of the greatest betrayals of public trust we have seen during this pandemic."

DeRosa on Friday tried to douse the firestorm of criticism by explaining the previous need to temporarily set aside the Legislature's request for information and first deal with the federal request.

"We informed the houses of this at the time. We were comprehensive and transparent in our responses to the DOJ, and then had to immediately focus our resources on the second wave and vaccine rollout," she said. "As I said on a call with legislators, we could not fulfill their request as quickly as anyone would have liked. But we are committed to being better partners going forward as we share the same goal of keeping New Yorkers as healthy as possible during the pandemic."

But it wasn't just the opposition Republicans. Democratic Assemblywoman Monica P. Wallace of Lancaster said she was "outraged," while acknowledging the crushing conditions of the pandemic's early effects in New York City.

"But by hiding information as it unfolded, we risked making things worse and put people's lives in jeopardy," she said. "That's unacceptable."

Democratic Sen. Sean M. Ryan joined her late Friday.

"The Governor's Department of Health has failed a critical test for transparency," Ryan said. "The information we have learned in the last 24 hours is troubling, and it has sparked a revaluation of the Governor's emergency powers which he has used throughout the pandemic."

Other Democrats followed. Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Yonkers said "crucial information should never be withheld from entities that are empowered to pursue oversight."

"This was always about getting the truth and allowing information to guide our response," she said. "That is why we had multiple hearings and another hearing scheduled for this month. ... Politics should not be part of this tragic pandemic."

Though most Senate Democrats appear to remain as Cuomo allies, the majority leader may have been reacting to significant concerns within her conference. Fourteen Senate Democrats (none from Western New York) joined Republican and Working Families Party calls for an end to Cuomo's emergency powers granted at the onset of Covid 19 — not coincidentally just after the Post disclosure.

"It is clear that the expanded emergency powers granted to the Governor are no longer appropriate," the mostly left-leaning Democrats said in a statement. "While the executive's authority to issue directives is due to expire on April 30, we urge the Senate to advance and adopt a repeal as expeditiously as possible."

The Cuomo administration, meanwhile, has found itself on the defensive not only in recent days but since Jan. 28, when Attorney General Letitia James — a Cuomo ally — issued a report showing officials underreported the number of nursing home residents who died from Covid-19.

Since then even Democrats have criticized the governor in what some have called a wake-up call from within his own party.

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