Journalist Morgan Pehme alleged Governor Andrew Cuomo’s (D-NY) office “terrorized” him for investigating his administration, according to an op-ed published Monday.
While the April 2014 call I received from DeRosa didn’t come directly from the governor, I knew it bore the full weight of his power. City & State, the New York politics magazine I edited at the time, was about to publish a story exposing Cuomo’s machinations to distort the final report issued by the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption.
Pehme said he received a “barrage of calls” as Cuomo’s media handlers” who vigorously “pushed me to spike the article, alternately approaching me with carrot (a hot exclusive to be named later) and stick.”
“Seven years later, I don’t recall precisely everything DeRosa hurled at me, though I’m positive she vowed to ‘destroy’ my career and take revenge on my publication. I remember vividly how I felt: scared,” Pehme said, adding that he had “no reason to think these were idle threats” as he was aware of Cuomo’s infamous “volcanic temper and track record of vindictiveness.”
He described the situation as a “gut check,” as he feared he could lose everything — but pressed on and published the piece. He said that is not always the case with other journalists and media outlets that see “editors kill legitimate stories because of his threats.”
read more:
Replies