Throughout Sunday’s State of the Union, CNN co-host Jake Tapper broke with the remainder of the Zucker-controlled community and issued a full-throated condemnation of Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo; following a bombshell New York Submit report uncovered how the Governor lined up the COVID deaths of nursing residence residents. It got here after CNN had largely ignored the rising scandal for days.
The Submit report and an Related Press report about Cuomo’s lethal choice each dropped on Thursday even. However CNN refused to cowl both of the tales till Saturday’s New Day, with Tapper’s televised editorial on Sunday was simply the second time it was talked about and the primary rant towards the community’s favourite governor. And unsurprisingly, Tapper ultimately parleyed his Cuomo feedback into bashing Senate Republicans.
“We simply noticed a small however respectable variety of politicians prepared to interrupt with their partisan allegiances and criticize an intimidating chief within the face of lack of life,” Tapper touted on the high of his closing section. After noting he wasn’t speaking concerning the Senate Republicans who voted to convict President Trump, he instructed viewers he was praising Democrats.
After recounting the overall nature of Cuomo’s scandalous nursing residence order, Tapper reminding of us of the earlier shoe that dropped with undercounting deaths:
It is, in fact, not possible to precisely confirm what number of nursing residence deaths are linked to the Cuomo directive. And positively a part of the reason being that the Cuomo administration’s, quote, ‘revealed nursing residence information mirrored and should have been undercounted by as a lot 50 p.c,’ in accordance with fellow Democrat and New York Lawyer Common Latisha James.
Tapper then referred to as out the Governor for refusing to seem on his present “regardless of dozens of requests over the previous yr, together with this previous week.”
Attending to the crux of the Submit’s bombshell, Tapper knowledgeable viewers of the personal, and recorded, telephone name Cuomo Secretary Melissa DeRosa had with Democratic state lawmakers the place she admitted to the cover-up:
Final August, New York legislators pressed Cuomo for extra info, and that is the place this newest personal admission, this newest growth within the scandal from his Secretary Melissa DeRosa is available in. She mentioned that the information was withheld as a result of, quote, “proper across the identical time,” they had been asking for it, “President Trump turns this into a large political soccer. He begins tweeting that we killed everybody in nursing houses. He directs the Division of Justice to do an investigation into us. Principally, we froze,” unquote.
That was adopted up with a soundbite displaying DeRosa bought her “political soccer” excuse from a Cuomo press convention final month. And Tapper clearly wasn’t placing up with their Trump blaming.
“However the place these folks died and why they died and in the event that they died due to Cuomo’s March directive, that’s info within the public curiosity,” he declared. “And concern of political enemies utilizing the information towards you, that is not an excuse for masking it up from the general public.”
After quoting just a few New York Democrats who condemned their Governor, with one calling it “legal,” Tapper started to shift; utilizing the state of affairs to bash Congressional Republicans:
Among the many Governor’s chief critics, is New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican who refused to carry Trump accountable for the lack of life below his watch due to the mishandling of the pandemic, or the January sixth MAGA terrorist assault on the capitol. Stefanik, in truth, helped unfold Trump’s large lie. So, you would possibly discover it tough to take critically Stefanik’s said outrage.
“As a result of in the event you’re solely upset about unhealthy, even deadly management selections and conduct based mostly on the partisan affiliation of that chief, you’re not working from a spot of righteousness. You’re working from a spot of craven self-interest,” he proclaimed earlier than railing towards Senate Republicans for a bit.
The transcript is under, click on “increase” to learn:
CNN’s State of the Union
February 14, 2021
9:52:41 a.m. JapJAKE TAPPER: We simply noticed a small however respectable variety of politicians prepared to interrupt with their partisan allegiances and criticize an intimidating chief within the face of lack of life. I am not speaking concerning the seven Senate Republicans who voted to battle Donald Trump. Senators Burr, Cassidy, Connors, Murkowski, Romney, Sasse, and Toomey.
I am speaking concerning the small variety of Democratic officers in New York publically expressing outrage after the newest growth within the scandal surrounding New York Governor Cuomo and the numbers of New York nursing residence residents who had been fatally contaminated with COVID.
Chances are you’ll recall the Cuomo administration final March instructed nursing houses, quote, “no resident shall be denied readmission or admission to the nursing residence solely based mostly on confirmed or suspected analysis of COVID-19,” unquote.
Nursing houses took in 1000’s of seniors with COVID, doubtlessly infecting 1000’s extra, equivalent to 89-year-old Norman Arbeeny. After the Cuomo directive, his household pulled him out of a nursing residence after he already had gotten a fever. And Arbeeny died at residence from COVID. Now, did he get COVID due to Cuomo’s directive? We do not know for certain, however his household says it isn’t rocket science.
DANIEL ARBEENY (Son): It was absolutely the worst choice anyone might make in a time of a pandemic.
TAPPER: It is, in fact, not possible to precisely confirm what number of nursing residence deaths are linked to the Cuomo directive. And positively a part of the reason being that the Cuomo administration’s, quote, “revealed nursing residence information mirrored and should have been undercounted by as a lot 50 p.c,” in accordance with fellow Democrat and New York Lawyer Common Latisha James.
Now, that’s as a result of contaminated nursing residence residents who had been then taken to hospitals the place they died, they had been omitted from the information. An fascinating choice for an administration below fireplace for months; for the nursing residence directive.
So, Governor Cuomo, who has declined to seem on this present regardless of dozens of requests over the previous yr, together with this previous week, made a nasty choice that will have price lives. After which his administration hid that information from the general public. Cuomo issued an government order altering the advisory on Could 10 requiring sufferers to check adverse earlier than returning to their nursing houses. However that was clearly too late for these already contaminated.
Final August, New York legislators pressed Cuomo for extra info, and that is the place this newest personal admission, this newest growth within the scandal from his secretary Melissa DeRosa is available in. She mentioned that the information was withheld as a result of, quote, “proper across the identical time,” they had been asking for it, “President Trump turns this into a large political soccer. He begins tweeting that we killed everybody in nursing houses. He directs the Division of Justice to do an investigation into us. Principally, we froze,” unquote.
In a public assertion Friday, she additionally blamed the second wave of the virus for the delay in reporting. However this all slot in completely with what Governor Cuomo mentioned himself on January 29 when requested concerning the damning report from the state legal professional common.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): It is not about pointing fingers or blame. It is that this turned a political soccer, proper? Look, whether or not an individual died in a hospital or died in a nursing residence, it is — the folks died. Individuals died.
TAPPER: However the place these folks died and why they died and in the event that they died due to Cuomo’s March directive, that’s info within the public curiosity. And concern of political enemies utilizing the information towards you, that is not an excuse for masking it up from the general public. This was Democrat New York Metropolis Mayor de Blasio’s response after studying about DeRosa’s feedback within the New York Submit, which broke the story.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY): It’s a very disturbing report. It’s very troubling. We have got to know extra. We now want a full accounting of what occurred. Take into consideration seniors who — their lives had been within the stability.
TAPPER: “Due to your selections, 1000’s of individuals died who didn’t must die,” tweeted a Democratic state legislature. “This can be a betrayal of the general public belief,” wrote one other. “That is legal,” mentioned one more.
Among the many Governor’s chief critics, is New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican who refused to carry Trump accountable for the lack of life below his watch due to the mishandling of the pandemic, or the January sixth MAGA terrorist assault on the capitol. Stefanik, in truth, helped unfold Trump’s large lie. So, you would possibly discover it tough to take critically Stefanik’s said outrage.”
As a result of in the event you’re solely upset about unhealthy, even deadly management selections and conduct based mostly on the partisan affiliation of that chief, you’re not working from a spot of righteousness. You’re working from a spot of craven self-interest.
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