Washington, D.C. – The Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has taken a significant step by dispatching a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday. In this letter, the committee referred a potential criminal case involving former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, to the Department of Justice. The referral alleges that Cuomo provided misleading testimony to Congress regarding his involvement in a health department report that significantly underestimated the number of nursing home deaths during the pandemic.
In March 2020, an advisory issued by Cuomo’s administration prohibited nursing homes from denying residents based solely on COVID-19 diagnosis. This decision, according to Subcommittee chairman Rep. Brad Wenstrup, an Ohio Republican, led to avoidable and severe consequences as it introduced many infected individuals into a vulnerable population.
The controversy centers on a state health department report from June 2020, which purportedly presented an inaccurately low death count from nursing homes by nearly 50%. This misleading statistic sparked considerable backlash as subsequent investigations and reports, including those by New York Attorney General Letitia James in January 2021, suggested significant underreporting.
The criticism from Cuomo’s team targeted the intentions behind the subcommittee’s actions. Cuomo’s legal representatives accused the committee, particularly Rep. Wenstrup, of partisan behavior, alleging an unethical pre-election exercise designed to garner political gains. They also suggested Wenstrup collaborated inappropriately with external parties connected to a lawsuit against Cuomo concerning his pandemic response.
Despite the charged political landscape, Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic has faced incisive scrutiny, especially after initial revelations that his office might have manipulated public death records concerning nursing homes. This was primarily confirmed by Attorney General James’ report, which reviewed death counts from a sample of state nursing homes and found gross underestimations.
Further controversy arose from the testimony of Cuomo’s former executive assistant, Farrah Kennedy, who communicated with senior staff in June 2020 about critical edits to the health department’s report. An email from Kennedy included a document labeled “Edits to nursing home doc,” which was allegedly in Cuomo’s handwriting, contradicting Cuomo’s denial of involvement.
According to the subcommittee’s referral, Cuomo made several criminally false statements during a June 11 interview, particularly about his non-involvement in the creation and review of the health department report issued on July 6. The subcommittee asserted these were not mere oversights but part of a deliberate strategy to avoid accountability.
The unfolding legal saga reveals deepening fissures in the political landscape, exacerbated by a public health crisis that has turned personal for many in New York and beyond. As these investigations continue, they not only probe the integrity of a prominent political figure but also scrutinize the systems of governance and oversight during unprecedented times. The outcomes of such legal and political confrontations are likely to resonate well beyond the individuals immediately involved, potentially informing future public health policies and the ethical standards expected of public officials.