Members of the Cuomo family, including CNN’s Chris Cuomo, reportedly had special access to coronavirus testing in the first days of the pandemic last year. CNN’s and the governor’s responses to the story have been widely criticized.
Summary
New York Gov Andrew Cuomo’s scandals and controversies are piling up as a new report alleges he gave family members special access to coronavirus testing in the first weeks of the pandemic.
- Cuomo allegedly told senior members of the state’s health agency to prioritize testing of his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, other family members and other “influential people.”
- CNN responded to The Washington Post, which broke the story, defending Chris Cuomo by saying he did what anyone would do in “turn[ing] to anyone he could for advice and assistance.”
- The response from the Governor’s office did not seem to dispute the specifics, saying the efforts were part of “heavy emphasis on contact tracing” in which “members of the general public” were also included, and that the story is part of “insincere efforts to rewrite the past.”
- Business Insider adds the new controversy to a number of hits to Cuomo, including sexual assault allegations, the coverup of nursing home COVID-19 deaths, and relatively underreported story of a serious safety issue with the Mario Cuomo Bridge, named after the governor’s father.
- In The Washington Post’s original reporting, it was stated some officials in the Cuomo administration were concerned about the preferential treatment, considering it “improper use of resources.”
- Huffington Post’s report subtly characterized the state Department of Health’s refusal to comment on specific individuals tested citing patient privacy as recalcitrance.
- The New York Post highlighted a handful of Twitter scornful responses to CNN’s defense of Chris Cuomo, citing former rival network host Keith Olbermann among others.
- Newsmax’s coverage relies heavily on the Albany Times Union’s first reporting, going into great detail how state health officials were pulled into “sampling missions” at the expense of their typical work responsibilities.
- RedState blasted Gov. Cuomo, saying “somehow Cuomo always finds a way” to be “slimier”, and questioning how he is still in office after the number of scandals. RedState also highlighted needling from media critic Stephen L Miller toward CNN’s media apologist Brian Stelter, suggesting he won’t cover any of the stories critical of CNN.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
