2 weeks Ago By Mariane Angela
A House subcommittee is set to refer former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the Justice Department for potential prosecution over allegations that he lied to Congress about his role in shaping a New York state COVID-19 report on nursing home deaths, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The move, set to be finalized on Thursday, represents a sharp rebuke from the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which claims Cuomo engaged in a “conscious, calculated effort” to avoid accountability for thousands of nursing home deaths that occurred during the pandemic, according to NYT.
The referral letter was signed solely by Subcommittee Chairman Ohio Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup, with the ranking Democrat Rep. Raul Ruiz of California declining to endorse it.
The subcommittee’s referral focuses on Cuomo’s closed-door testimony, where he reportedly denied reviewing a state health department report that redirected blame from his administration for nursing home fatalities, NYT reported. However, NYT recently revealed that Cuomo not only reviewed the report but also contributed to early drafts, and this new evidence, drawn from congressional records and emails, adds to the scrutiny of Cuomo’s pandemic management. TRUMP holds a press conference from a garbage truck in Green Bay, Wisconsin: pic.
twitter.com/GTcwCwljY3 — Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 30, 2024 Cuomo’s legal team sent its own letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday night, alleging that the subcommittee misused government resources and accusing Wenstrup and others of political bias. The letter, drafted by Cuomo’s attorney Sarah A.
Sulkowski, criticizes the subcommittee for conducting a partisan investigation, allegedly in coordination with Fox News personality Janice Dean, whose husband was involved in a dismissed lawsuit against Cuomo. Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic has been marred in controversy, with his early daily briefings garnering widespread praise, but his policies, particularly around nursing home deaths, coming under fire, NYT stated. This includes the March 2020 order requiring nursing homes to readmit COVID-19-positive patients and the ethics board’s order for Cuomo to return a $5 million advance from his memoir, which the former governor has contested in court.
Cuomo testified before Congress on June 11 regarding his 2020 directive. The testimony also addressed allegations that his administration intentionally underreported COVID-19 nursing home deaths by altering classification methods, as first reported by Daily Caller News Foundation in May 2020 following an investigation. The former governor’s directive led to the deaths of over 4,000 residents, according to the state attorney general’s report in 2021.
Attorney General Letitia James reported that some of these deaths occurred in facilities with no prior COVID-19 cases before the order took effect. (RELATED: Andrew Cuomo Says Trump Civil Fraud Case ‘Should Have Never Been Brought’) This latest controversy emerges as Cuomo eyes a potential return to politics, with speculation swirling around his interest in running for New York City mayor next year. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is embroiled in his own scandal as he faces federal bribery charges .
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