Cuomo Nursing Home Scandal Intensifies After Allegations He Threatened Democratic Lawmaker

New York’s COVID-19 nursing home scandal continues to intensify as a Democratic lawmaker says Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened to “destroy him” unless he fell in line.

Cuomo is already in hot water after his office concealed the true number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. A statement from his office denies that he made the remarks, CNN reports.

Assemblyman Ron Kim is the one reportedly on the receiving end of Cuomo’s ire. He says Cuomo called him at home to try to “pressure me to issue a statement” supporting Melissa DeRosa, an aide to Cuomo.

“[Cuomo said] 'we're in this business together and we don't cross certain lines' and he said I hadn't seen his wrath and that he can destroy me," Kim said. “It was a very traumatizing experience.”

DeRosa has been the target of criticism after informing state legislators the governor’s office hadn’t given them accurate numbers out of concern over a federal inquiry. The scandal has brought Cuomo under fire from officials in both parties, including Kim.

“No man has ever spoken to me like that in my entire life," Kim said. "At some point he tried to humiliate me, asking: 'Are you a lawyer? I didn't think so. You're not a lawyer.' It almost felt like in retrospect he was trying to bait me and anger me and say something inappropriate. I'm glad I didn't."

Kim’s wife corroborated the story of the phone call, saying she had heard the governor ask Kim "Who do you think you are?" and use the words "my wrath.”

"Kim's assertion that the governor said he would ‘destroy him' is false,” senior Cuomo advisor Rich Azzopardi told CNN. “The Governor has three witnesses to the conversation. The operable words were to the effect of, 'I am from Queens, too, and people still expect honor and integrity in politics.”

At the same time, Cuomo detailed his “long and hostile relationship” with Kim in a previously-scheduled conference. He said Kim’s rivalry began with a 2015 bill involving nail salons, implying that Kim’s opposition to it was motivated by shady political contributions.

Kim says the governor did mention honor during the call, but stands by his original telling of events and plans to continue trying to hold the governor accountable.

“There's no undoing here. They have blood on their hands," Kim told CNN. "We're talking about his record of performance in the last 10 months."