Fox’s Janice Dean Rails Against ‘Sham’ Hearings on NY Nursing Home Deaths, Claims Gov. Cuomo Got Her Invite to Speak Rescinded

Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean, whose in-laws died from the coronavirus, railed against the hearings on the deaths in New York nursing homes on Monday’s The Brian Kilmeade Show — claiming that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) got her invitation to speak rescinded.

Cuomo has claimed in the past that any criticism on his handling of the virus in nursing homes has been politically charged, and has dodged the blame, placing it on the federal government and the CDC. 

Dean, however, blames the governor’s handling of the pandemic for the deaths of both of her parents-in-law, as they died from the coronavirus at assisted living facilities.

“Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s motto during the coronavirus pandemic has always been ‘New York Tough,’” Dean wrote in an op-ed for USA Today. “But when it comes to tough questions about his leadership during this time, Cuomo has shown he isn’t so tough after all. In fact, he prefers to place blame on anyone but himself for the disastrous decisions he’s made.”

Dean told Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade that she was taken off the list of people meant to be at Monday’s public hearings, noting that she filled out the paperwork and was in contact with Assemblyman Kevin Byrne, who promised her access.

“I think that it was Andrew Cuomo or his administration that decided that they didn’t want my voice to be heard. And that’s really unfortunate,” she added. “I was going to watch today, Brian, but I have no desire to watch anymore because it just is another indication that they don’t want a real investigation. This is a complete sham.”

Kilmeade noted that the hearing would lack a Republican presence to keep Cuomo accountable and added that those invited would fail to contradict him before asking Dean if the federal government is at all responsible.

“Well, listen, you can blame a lot of things on the federal government, but as far as I’m concerned, they gave Governor Cuomo everything that he wanted. They brought the Comfort ship. They made the Javits Center into a makeshift coronavirus hospital to transport people,” Dean responded. “And the nurses and doctors there were like on Facebook all day because there was no patients. So, you know, this mandate was signed by Governor Cuomo March 25th to allow COVID positive patients into nursing homes for 46 days. And now he’s saying, no, that had nothing to do with the fact that we had thousands of deaths.”

She added that Cuomo also blames nursing home workers and their visitors for the crisis they faced, pointing out that she was never allowed to visit her in-laws. Dean claimed that while blame can be placed on the federal government regarding certain aspects of the outbreak, Cuomo should take responsibility for New York’s handling of the pandemic.

“He said, you know what? If you have a problem with the response, you blame me. The buck stops on my desk. Well, since this has happened and nursing homes have been under fire because of the coronavirus spreading like wildfire, taking my in-laws along with them, thousands of others, he has yet to take any responsibility or accountability,” she said. “He has blamed every single thing and everyone else except the man that signed the mandate himself Governor Andrew Cuomo.”