New York Assemblyman Ron Kim (D), who last week said he was threatened by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) for seeking answers on the handling of coronavirus outbreaks in the state’s nursing homes, said on Monday to “follow the money” in the scandal.
“Back on March 25, the governor issued a mandate that sent 9,000 COVID patients back to nursing homes without being tested. That’s when I started getting involved, when I saw the impact of that on the ground,” Kim told Hill.TV.
“I believe part of the reason they suppressed the number of deaths and decoupled the data was to make sure we didn’t have the tools to repeal” broad immunity Cuomo secured for numerous nursing home executives, Kim added.
Asked by co-host Krystal Ball about Cuomo’s push for immunity for the executives, Kim replied: “If you follow the money, Gov. Cuomo got about $1.5 million in campaign donations from the same industry lobbyists who wrote the language of the legal immunity, who bragged about it in a press release.”
“Imagine an industry that’s 65 percent for-profits, and the first thing you do at the peak of the pandemic is give them a blanket immunity,” Kim added. “Do you think they’re going to invest in [personal protective equipment] and hire more staff?”
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