New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D., should resign, Judge Jeanine Pirro told "Fox & Friends" on Friday, reacting to the bombshell report that the governor hid nursing home deaths from the Trump administration.
"There was criminal behavior before this came out. What you had was a governor, he is a liar, a political bully and ... he made the decision to infect the most vulnerable in our society by sending in COVID-infected patients. That is a no-brainer right there. He knew what was going on, he signed the mandate, he tried to blame everyone, including the president, for that, but he was wrong about that," said the "Justice with Judge Jeanine" host.
A top aide to Cuomo told leading state Democratic lawmakers that the administration had withheld data on COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes to avoid federal scrutiny, according to a new report in the New York Post. The revelation prompted condemnations and even talk of impeachment in Albany, the state's capital. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., wants the Department of Justice to open an obstruction of justice investigation.
"I’ve called for Governor Cuomo’s resignation, I think this is probably going to look like criminal behavior," Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., told "Fox & Friends" earlier on the show.
CUOMO ADMIN SAYS TOTAL CORONAVIRUS DEATHS IN NURSING HOMES IS EVEN HIGHER
Tenney had called for former Attorney General William Barr to investigate nursing home deaths since April and May. Although Tenney was alerted about the matter since early March and raised awareness on radio and television appearances ever since, it was "ignored."
"The families of thousands of dead New York seniors deserve accountability and justice for the true consequences of Governor Cuomo’s fatally flawed nursing home policy and the continued attempts to cover it up. It’s clear what's happening here is criminal," he said.
The New York Post first reported that Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, told leading Empire State Democrats that the administration feared the data could "be used against us" by the Justice Department during a video conference call. The DOJ began investigating nursing home coronavirus deaths in four states back in August – and New York was one of them.
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Pirro said Cuomo was "delaying" sending the information to lawmakers about nursing home deaths and claiming there was "no problem." She said the new report points to a "super cover-up," where his own aide is admitting that information was withheld due to an investigation of the matter.
"If you want intent, you've got intent that's so strong here. ... Good for the attorney general in New York, but I am not going to applaud her until there is a grand jury investigating this matter and that depends on the attorney general. The feds can do it as well," Pirro said.
Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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