On Tuesday, the New York State Comptroller found that former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration purposefully undercounted COVID nursing home deaths by over fifty percent, with one former Cuomo aide admitting it was done to prevent criticism from then-President Donald Trump. All three evening newscasts ignored this report, with Fox News’s Special Report and local Fox affiliate Fox 5 NY being the only other networks to cover this revelation.
While they avoided covering this new Cuomo story, ABC’s World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News were hyped that the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. ABC also thought it was important to talk about the weather.
In Fox 5 NY’s report, anchor Morgan McKay announced that the “Cuomo administration stopped counting the number of residents who contracted COVID in a facility but later died in a hospital. Making it seem like far fewer nursing home residents died from COVID in New York.” McKay also noted that “this audit is now the third state inquiry to conclude that the Cuomo administration made a deliberate decision to withhold this data from the public.”
Later in the report, McKay noted the apparent motivation for Cuomo’s COVID death coverup “in a leaked recording the Governor’s top aide admitted that they knowingly withheld this data from the public in order to avoid being attacked by former President Donald Trump.”
As previously noted, Fox News’s Bret Baier who appears to be one of the last true television journalists also covered the New York comptroller report:
Fox 5 in New York has a new audit that says the administration of then-governor Andrew Cuomo failed to account for about (...) 441 hundred nursing home residents (...) who died from COVID-19. The report says at certain points during the pandemic, the state -- health department undercounted the number of nursing home deaths by more than 50 percent.
You can be sure that the networks wouldn’t be ignoring this story if it was Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis who covered up nursing home deaths.
This blackout of disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo purposefully underreporting COVID nursing home deaths for political gain was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from TD Ameritrade on ABC, Claritin on CBS, and Ensure on NBC. Their contact information is linked.
The transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
Fox 5 NY
3/15/2022
5:30 p.m. EasternMORGAN MCKAY: The Cuomo administration stopped counting the number of residents who contracted COVID in a facility but later died in a hospital. Making it seem like far fewer nursing home residents died from COVID in New York. But this audit is now the third state inquiry to conclude that the Cuomo administration made a deliberate decision to withhold this data from the public.
BILL HAMMOND (EMPIRE CENTER HEALTH POLICY EXPERT): They weren’t being told the truth about what was going on.
MCKAY: The New York State Comptroller found that the administration under former Governor Andrew Cuomo was undercounting nursing home deaths by more than fifty percent at times during the pandemic.
HAMMOND: The disconnect between the image the Governor was portraying of kind of competent government, right on top of the situation, doing everything possible, listening to the experts. Almost all of those statements ended up not being completely true.
MCKAY: Now this revelation doesn't come as too much of a surprise as even Cuomo spokesman points out this was already public knowledge. But this does remind voters of the spark that lead to Cuomo’s ultimate resignation as Cuomo looks to potentially stage a comeback.
BASIL SMIKLE (HUNTER COLLEGE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC POLICY): There’s still a lot unanswered and I imagine that if he decides to step into this race he’s going to be dogged with those questions in addition to questions about abuse.
MCKAY: In January 2021, the state attorney general released a report that showed the state was undercounting the number of nursing home residents who died from COVID. In a leaked recording the Governor’s top aide admitted that they knowingly withheld this data from the public in order to avoid being attacked by former President Donald Trump. Cuomo allegedly accused a lawmaker of leaking the recording who turned around and went on national television calling Cuomo a bully. Just weeks later the first woman came forward accusing Cuomo of sexual misconduct.
FNC’s Special Report
3/16/2022
6:45:26 p.m. EasternBRET BAIER: Fox 5 in New York has a new audit that says the administration of then-governor Andrew Cuomo failed to account for about 441 -- I'm sorry, 441 hundred nursing home residents. I think that's 441 who died from COVID-19. The report says at certain points during the pandemic, the state -- health department undercounted the number of nursing home deaths by more than 50 percent.
