BUFFALO, N.Y. — Governor Andrew Cuomo’s COVID briefings, aired around the country last year, were held around the state, as he guided the state government response to the pandemic. The governor was praised for the nearly daily updates, which eventually earned him an International Emmy Award.
And consistently, the news media was invited to attend and ask questions.
Now, with Cuomo and his administration the subject of as many as four separate investigations, reporters have been kept away at his public events.
Monday’s schedule for the governor included an event to Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon. Cuomo announcing an effort to partner with more houses of worship as smaller vaccinations sites.
But the media alert about the event notes: “Due to COVID restrictions, this event is CLOSED PRESS.”
At the church, Cuomo was flanked by a number of people, all of them wearing masks.
2 On Your Side did reach out to the governor’s office about why there have been so many events closed to the press. So far, there’s been no response.
As has been the recent practice, Governor Cuomo did hold a conference call later with reporters invited to attend, but obviously without cameras.
Four reporters were selected on Monday to ask the governor a question, but at the beginning of the Q&A section Cuomo announced he would not be talking about anything related to the investigations, which include the claims of sexual harassment and the undisclosed number of COVID nursing home deaths.
One question centered on Tom Reed and a former lobbyist who says the congressman touched her and unclasped her bra in a Minneapolis bar in 2017.
Reed Sunday offered an apology and announced next year he would not run for public office. That includes a possible challenge of Cuomo for governor.
Offered the opportunity to comment on Reed, Cuomo passed, “I have no comment.”
Reed’s departure as a potential Republican gubernatorial candidate may have been too eagerly reported on says New York State Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy, “While I know many in Buffalo media probably presented Tom as a front-runner, I don’t necessarily think that was an accurate portrayal.”
Meanwhile, lifelong Republican Michael Caputo has written the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate the accusations against Reed.
Caputo sees the request as a matter of consistency, “If we as Republicans are going to call for Cuomo’s resignation or impeachment, we should be ready to ask one of our own to be investigated as well.”