Seven individuals with direct knowledge believe Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) gave preferential treatment to family relatives and New York elites at state coronavirus testing centers.
According to a report, the immediate family of the New York governor, including his brother CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, are among those suspected of benefiting from Andrew Cuomo’s influence, obtaining “attention that appeared to go beyond that of others, receiving multiple visits at their Hamptons home from Department of Health physician Eleanor Adams, according to two people familiar with the visits.”
“They were treated like royalty… I didn’t understand why they were able to jump the line,” one of the seven individuals with knowledge said of the Cuomo family.
“I remember them being like, ‘They’re coming, they’re coming,’” the nurse remembered, articulating how site leaders spoke about the family when they were approaching. “And they would say, ‘Have the state trooper ready … have it ready to go to Wadsworth.’ There was a lot of anxiety over those samples getting to the right place.”
Other high society persons are also reported to have received special treatment, which were “described by staff as ‘priorities,’ ‘specials,’ ‘inner circle,’ or ‘criticals,’ according to five people, including three nurses,” who detailed how those close to Andrew Cuomo received redirected resources “that were fast-tracked.”
The individuals who divulged the news and described the “behind-the-scenes operations and their feelings of discomfort” spoke to the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity “out of fear of retribution by Cuomo’s office.”
Both brothers’ spokespersons have parsed the accusations.
“There was no ‘VIP’ program as the Washington Post described — when priority was given, it was to nurses, guardsmen, state workers, and other government officials central to the pandemic response and those they were in direct contact with…,” said Rich Azzopardi, the governor’s spokesman.
CNN spokesman Matt Dornic refused to comment on Chris Cuomo’s medical history. “As we have already said, we generally do not comment on employees’ medical care and we have nothing more to add,” he concluded.
Chris Cuomo conveniently took a hiatus shortly after the alleged nepotism story broke but returned to his show Monday, avoiding the allegations, along with the rest of CNN, which also “implemented a coverage blackout of the latest bombshell, including the network’s left-wing media guru Brian Stelter, who has a growing trend of avoiding the biggest media controversies on his media-centric program ‘Reliable Sources,'” according to Fox News.
Chris Cuomo’s alleged special treatment runs counter to what he said on his show in 2020 after he was infected with the Chinese virus. Doctor Anthony Fauci “can say that anyone who wants a test can get one, and they know that’s BS, because you and I both know that we know people in our lives who can’t get tested,” he complained. “And when they do get tested, they can’t get results, until they’re already over the illness.”
The new reporting comes while Andrew Cuomo is already under investigation by New York state Attorney General Letitia James for alleged sexual harassment. Despite the current investigation, James asked the New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics Thursday to open an investigation on Andrew Cuomo’s “testing protocol.”
“The recent reports alleging there was preferential treatment given for COVID-19 testing are troubling,” Jame’s spokesman said in a statement.
A spokesman for the ethics commission responded by saying the panel “cannot comment on anything that is or might be an investigative matter.”