New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing increasing, bipartisan criticism for his administration’s handling of the reporting of nursing home deaths related to the coronavirus. The latest wrinkle: a Democratic legislator says Cuomo should be impeached.

In an op-ed for Newsweek, Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim said:

After seven months of stonewalling, [Cuomo’s] top aides wanted to discuss the “delay” in reporting nursing home data. Then the bombshell dropped, Melissa DeRosa admitted to withholding the numbers from the Department of Justice for political purposes, and we reached a point of no return: We had an ethical duty to stand up to this governor or become accomplices.

We cannot be numb to the fact that 15,000 people died in nursing homes under Governor Cuomo’s watch. If the corporate immunity was omitted from the budget, how many lives would have been saved? Ten percent? Twenty percent? That is 1,500 to 3,000 families who could be sitting across from a loved one at dinner tonight. That’s an entire 9/11 tragedy that we could have prevented.

We must hold the governor accountable and restore the integrity of the Senate and Assembly as co-equal branches of government. We must put all options on the table, in order to get to the truth.

Kim’s option: starting the “impeachment process.”

If that actually occurs, it would represent a spectacular fall from grace for the three-term governor national press outlets praised as a great leader – so much so Cuomo won an Emmy award for his “masterful” briefings.

He may have to return that statue.

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