Commentary: Fact-Checker Downplays Cuomo's Part in Nursing Home Death Surge, Blames Employees Instead

Brian Stelter’s CNN show, “Reliable Sources,” hasn’t covered the scandal regarding New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home death toll.

On Sunday, however, Stelter’s show broke its silence and had a PolitiFact fact-checker on to make it clear how responsible Cuomo is for sending thousands of sick patients back into facilities to free up more beds:

Well, you know, it’s a complicated topic, but it could have been the employees who brought COVID-19 in.

Those reliable sources, holding Cuomo’s feet to the fire.

Angie Drobnic Holan, editor in chief of the Poynter Institute-affiliated fact-checking organization, appeared on Stelter’s show to talk about various fact-checking-related items.

One of them? Cuomo’s claim that he “should have been more aggressive against COVID death misinformation,” according to Stelter, who said the governor was “kind of blaming the media for the newfound scrutiny about nursing home deaths.”

The governor’s claim is essentially the same as, when one says something cretinous, apologizing by saying, “I’m sorry you didn’t understand what I was saying.” Except in this case, Cuomo’s orders — including his decision to send COVID-positive patients back into nursing homes when they hadn’t tested negative in order to free up hospital beds — cost lives.

But hold up, Holan said. PolitiFact looked into the situation and it’s not sure the evidence exists to pin this one on Cuomo.

“I think the situation in New York is really complicated. Certainly, there are things to criticize about how the Cuomo administration handled data,” she said.

“But the heart of the matter goes back to last year when the state was asking nursing homes to take in patients, COVID patients, who are ready to be discharged from the hospital. We don’t see hard evidence that that made a significant difference in COVID deaths.