Janice Dean on new report outing Cuomo's COVID negligence: 'Maybe the angles will have their day in court'
A new report released by New York's attorney general finds that the Cuomo administration underreported COVID-19 nursing home deaths by up to 50 percent; Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean calls the report a 'ray of light' in the fight for justice.
Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean was emotional Thursday as she reacted to a report that New York state health officials underreported coronavirus deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50 percent, saying perhaps some "justice" might finally come for Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Dean has been one of the Democrat governor's sharpest media critics over his handling of the pandemic, particularly over his decision in March to order nursing homes to accept patients who were positive for COVID-19. Both of her in-laws died in New York nursing homes from coronavirus last year.
"When I saw the report and knew it was coming probably an hour before it was released, I called my husband and I called my sister-in-law, and I said that maybe the angels won. Maybe the angels will have their day in court and maybe this governor will be held accountable," a tearful Dean said on "The Faulkner Focus."
"I didn't want to be in this position. I'm not a political person but my family was affected and I wasn't seeing the coverage. I wasn't seeing the questions being asked of this governor. He continued to pass the blame on everyone else and everything else. And he still to this day will not accept any responsibility."
NY UNDERCOUNTED NURSING HOME CORONAVIRUS DEATHS BY AS MUCH AS 50%, STATE AG SAYS
It was already known that Cuomo's nursing homes directive, since reversed, had led to thousands of additional cases and deaths due to its increased danger to the elderly, but New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report Thursday that found enormous discrepancies in how many deaths were reported to her investigators versus those to Cuomo's Department of Health.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo delivers his State of the State address virtually from The War Room at the state Capitol, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, Pool)
In one instance according to the New York Times, a facility reported 11 confirmed and presumed deaths to the Health Department as happening on-site through early August. But the AG's survey discovered 40 deaths tied to the facility, including 27 alone at the home itself as well as 13 at hospitals.
"Government guidance requiring the admission of COVID-19 patients into nursing homes may have put residents at increased risk of harm in some facilities and may have obscured the data available to assess that risk," the report said.
Cuomo has been defensive of his handling of the nursing home policy, claiming he was following Trump administration guidelines.
Dean praised James, a Democrat, for her report as well as journalists who "wanted to do good" and attain accurate information about the death count.
"I'm so grateful today that justice might be served," she said, saying later, "I don't want to call it a win. I just want to call it maybe some justice."
Cuomo received a daytime Emmy award for his coronavirus press briefings, and he has received consistently favorable coverage in the media, including from his brother, CNN primetime anchor Chris Cuomo.
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Although New York has the highest death count of any state from the coronavirus, Gov. Cuomo also wrote a book about his handling of the pandemic. "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic," was released in October.