NY state legislator claims Cuomo threatened him: ‘He can destroy me’

New York Assemblyman Ron Kim (D) told CNN on Wednesday that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) had threatened him over the phone after he criticized the governor over a pause in the release of data on coronavirus deaths in state nursing homes.

“Gov. Cuomo called me directly on Thursday to threaten my career if I did not cover up for Melissa [DeRosa] and what she said. He tried to pressure me to issue a statement, and it was a very traumatizing experience,” Kim told CNN.

“We’re in this business together and we don’t cross certain lines,” Kim said the governor told him. He also said Cuomo told him that he “hadn’t seen his wrath and that he can destroy me.”

Top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa told state lawmakers during a virtual meeting that the Cuomo administration “froze” releasing information on long-term care facility deaths out of concern that the Department of Justice (DOJ) under former President Trump would launch a federal investigation.

“No man has ever spoken to me like that in my entire life,” Kim said of the phone call with Cuomo.