NY Republicans Accuse Cuomo Of Lying About Tax Reform Vote
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – New York Republicans are questioning Gov. Andrew Cuomo's honesty, accusing him of "outright lying" while criticizing the GOP tax plan.
After the House narrowly approved the Republican tax bill, Cuomo was quick to criticize the four upstate New York Republicans who voted 'yes.'
"I talked to all of them, and they all had the same line, which was you know, 'my political leaders are forcing me to vote for it,'" the governor said.
As CBS2's Tony Aiello reports, those Republicans say 'no way.'
"This is false. Cuomo did not call," Rep. Claudia Tenney posted on Twitter.
"The governor is lying, he never called or spoke to me," Rep. Chris Collins tweeted.
"Clearly the first thing that comes to mind is pathological liar, someone who's not living in reality," Collins told CBS2.
Rep. Tom Reed said he spoke with Cuomo in October, but there was no discussion of political pressure.
"I knew Gov. Cuomo was a bully, but I didn't know he was an outright liar," Reed tweeted.
The GOP chair said Cuomo is demonizing Republicans instead of finding common ground.
"He should be working with the entire delegation, including Republicans, and not just lie about conversations that he had with some of them," New York State Republican Chairman Ed Cox said.
A spokesperson for the governor said the Republicans "can try to deflect from this irresponsible vote, but it's the governor who stood up for New York taxpayers and always will."
Aiello asked some taxpayers what they think.
"You don't want your governor lying to the people of New York, that's for sure," Russ Ringelstein said.
"It leaves me, as a citizen, in the lurch, because there's just too much misinformation around," said Roz Goldfarb.
"I like the governor, I think he's an honest person, I wouldn't think he'd have any reason to lie," another man added.
There is reason to believe, however, Republicans will revisit this controversy next year when the governor's up for re-election.
Cuomo says the tax bill will hurt New York by reducing deductibility for state and local taxes, particularly in the city and suburbs.
The upstate Republicans say amendments to the bill will minimize impact in their districts.