NY Dem Says His Family Was ‘Terrified’ By Cuomo Intimidation: He ‘Threatens Your Livelihood If You Don’t Lie For Him’
A Democratic New York legislator is opening up about the threats he says he received from Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) which left his family “terrified.”
Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Thursday, New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim (D) detailed the alleged threats from the governor in chilling fashion. Kim claims Cuomo threatened him in an effort to get him to participate in a cover-up of Covid-caused nursing home deaths. The assemblyman has been a vocal critic of Cuomo’s on this issue, and Kim says that the governor tried to intimidate him into changing his position.
“When we get closer to the truth behind the growing nursing home scandal in New York, Governor Cuomo tries to implicate you in the cover-up, or threatens your livelihood if you don’t lie for him,” Kim said. “And that’s what happened to me in the last week.”
Kim said that he was one of six lawmakers in a private virtual meeting with top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa. During that meeting, Kim says that DeRosa admitted to a coverup. Kim said he felt he had to go public, then Cuomo phoned him the next evening while he was bathing his kids.
“For 10 minutes he berated me,” Kim said. “He yelled at me. He told me that my career would be over. He has been biting his tongue for months against me. And I had tonight — not tomorrow, tonight — to issue a new statement essentially asking me to lie. I heard and saw a crime the other day. And he’s asking me [to say] that I did not see that crime.”
Cuomo’s office issued a statement claiming that Kim is lying. However, despite his frequent appearances on MSNBC over the last year, Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski noted that Cuomo did not accept an interview request Thursday.
Kim went on to note that Cuomo called him four more times subsequently.
“It was loud enough for my wife to hear,” Kim said of the initial call. “She was in shock. She didn’t get any sleep that night. And we were terrified.”
Watch above, via MSNBC.
