Assemblyman Ron Kim says Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened him in a phone call.
This is the latest blow to the Cuomo Administration, which has been dealing with wave-after-wave of controversy since an AG report blasted the administration’s handling of nursing home COVID data.
Assemblyman Kim alleged in interview with The New York Times and CNN that Cuomo threatened to “destroy” him in a phone call last week.
He’s been a vocal, longtime critic of the Governor, but his most-recent criticism stemming from that call paints Gov. Cuomo in a significantly different light given recent headlines.
“We’re in this business together and we don’t cross certain lines and he said I hadn’t seen his wrath and that he can destroy me,” Kim said of the conversation with Cuomo.
The Governor blasted Kim, calling him out by name on Wednesday, during a conference call with reporters. “He attacked me and said that I obstructed justice in a letter, today,” Cuomo said. “He said today that the immunity bill was because of my political contributors. Those are very harsh accusations. In this business, the void and disinformation, you can’t not correct disinformation.”
Kim had a response of his own.
“While he claims he was taking time to answer the Justice Department, we saw him gallivant around on a book tour and victory lap across prime time cable shows. Again, all while his top aide deliberately hid the information in fear of political and legal consequences,” he added. “The governor can smear me all he wants in an effort to distract us from his fatally incompetent management. But these facts are not going away because they are the facts — unacceptable facts that hold him accountable.”
Gov. Cuomo’s senior advisor Rich Azzopardi called Kim a liar. “Mr. Kim is lying about his conversation with Governor Cuomo Thursday night,” he said in a statement, which was reported by Spectrum News. “I know because I was one of three other people in the room when the phone call occurred. At no time did anyone threaten to ‘destroy’ anyone with their ‘wrath’ nor engage in a ‘coverup.’ That’s beyond the pale and is unfortunately part of a years-long pattern of lies by Mr. Kim against this administration.”
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