Fox News’ Janice Dean accused Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of trying “a bully tactic” on her prior to the publication of her op-ed, which detailed “the tragic rise of Andrew Cuomo amid COVID-19.”
Dean’s op-ed, published Monday morning on Fox News, laid out Cuomo’s various missteps and failures, most notably his executive order directing nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients. Dean has been fighting for transparency after losing both of her in-laws to COVID-19 in nursing homes.
“We reached out to @NYGovCuomo’s office last night re: my OpEd,” Dean tweeted after the article went up. “They reacted right away wanting an embargoed copy. We said they could read it at 5am and give reaction then. They asked my producer Sam to ask us the exact date my in-laws died and what nursing home they were in.”
“My producer Sam called my husband because I was asleep. He said to tell the governor we’re not comfortable giving out information until you give @TheJusticeDept the total number of all the senior deaths. It was a bully tactic which they’re known for and I addressed in the essay,” she added.
My producer Sam called my husband because I was asleep. He said to tell the governor we’re not comfortable giving out information until you give @TheJusticeDept the total number of all the senior deaths. It was a bully tactic which they’re known for and I addressed in the essay.
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) January 4, 2021
The Justice Department is investigating if New York state undercounted the number of nursing home COVID-related deaths and requested “detailed data from hundreds of private facilities,” Dean wrote in her op-ed. The request, which occurred in October, has not yet been fulfilled. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Fox News’ Janice Dean Is Continuing To Fight After Cuomo’s Disastrous Nursing Home Mandate)
Dean also noted in her op-ed how Cuomo has consistently placed the blame on others, including nursing home visitors and workers, and expressed frustration “by the lack of questions Cuomo gets asked about the nursing home massacre at his daily briefings.”
“Had the governor admitted his terrible decisions instead of making posters, plastic mountains and coronavirus artwork, many of us would’ve forgiven him. Had he written condolence cards instead of books about ‘leadership’ I probably would not be speaking up on behalf of other grieving families,” Dean wrote, referring to a book Cuomo published touting his leadership efforts amid the pandemic.