Gov. Cuomo Rails Against Firestorm Brought on By Nursing Home Scandal: ‘No One Has a Right to Spread Lies’

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) railed against the criticism he’s been facing regarding his alleged nursing home death toll coverup — exclaiming that “no one has a right to spread lies.”

The governor has been facing intense scrutiny following news that he undercounted the number of deaths in nursing homes amid the coronavirus pandemic — much of the backlash coming from fellow New York Democrats.

State lawmakers from both parties have also began to push for the removal of Cuomo’s “emergency powers,” which were granted to him during the pandemic.

The FBI and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have also reportedly opened an investigation into his administration’s coronavirus response, while New York State Attorney General Letitia James has accused Cuomo of cutting the death rate in nursing homes by up to 50 percent.

Now, forced to explain the situation while also defending his leadership skills, Cuomo has condemned his critics for spreading lies about the scandal.

“Those false statements must be countered. They must be, or else people get confused. No one has a right to spread lies or misinformation that causes pain to families,” Cuomo said during a Friday press briefing. “I understand politicians are a nasty business in this environment. I understand people live. I get it. I get it. I live it every day. But, this is different. This is causing pain to families who lost a loved one.”

Cuomo claimed that he and his administration failed to combat lies and misinformation throughout the pandemic aggressively enough.

“We were busy. We were doing our job, we were trying to save lives. No excuses. I was not aggressive enough in knocking down the falsities,” he added. “I heard them, I saw them, I dismissed it as politics. I dismissed it as personal agendas. I dismissed it as partisan politics, which is at a fever pitch nowadays. But I should have been more aggressive in calling it out.”

Cuomo continued to condemn those spreading misinformation on the controversy — a stance he also took at his Monday press briefing, during which he blamed a “toxic political environment” for the backlash he’s been facing.

Watch above, via Fox News.