House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky on Monday afternoon referred current New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal prosecution.
Comer said the former governor “knowingly and willfully made false statements to Congress” regarding his involvement in a state government report that underreported the number of deaths in New York nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Comer’s recommendation that Attorney General Pam Bondi prosecute Cuomo for “lying to Congress” follows the Biden DOJ’s decision to ignore a previous referral from House Republicans in October 2024.
Cuomo testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in September and gave closed-door testimony to the subcommittee in June regarding his administration’s controversial policies that enabled thousands of positive COVID-19 patients to be admitted to nursing home facilities in the state.
House Republicans have accused Cuomo of deliberately seeking to avoid accountability by allegedly lying to Congress about his involvement in a state government report that undercounted nursing home deaths. Comer, in a Monday press release, alleged the former governor’s testimony to Congress about his handling of the nursing home crisis and ensuing coverup were “demonstrably false.”
“Andrew Cuomo is a man with a history of corruption and deceit, now caught red-handed lying to Congress during the Select Subcommittee’s investigation into the COVID-19 nursing home tragedy in New York,” Comer said. “This wasn’t a slip-up — it was a calculated cover-up by a man seeking to shield himself from responsibility for the devastating loss of life in New York’s nursing homes.”
“Let’s be clear: lying to Congress is a federal crime,” Comer said. “Mr. Cuomo must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The House Oversight Committee is prepared to fully cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation into Andrew Cuomo’s actions and ensure he’s held to account.”
Cuomo’s March 2020 guidance that prohibited nursing homes from rejecting patients solely because of a COVID-19 diagnosis led to the deaths of thousands of senior citizens, according to State Attorney General Letitia James’ report in 2021.
The Daily Caller News Foundation first reported in May 2020 that the New York State Department of Health knowingly miscounted nursing home deaths by altering its classification system. James’ report said that Cuomo’s administration may have undercounted nursing home coronavirus deaths by nearly 50%.
Cuomo is the current frontrunner in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary to succeed Mayor Eric Adams, according to recent polling. The former governor is running as a moderate in a crowded primary field.
New York State Sen. Jessica Ramos, one of Cuomo’s opponents for the Democratic mayoral nomination, suggested the former governor did not act maliciously during his testimony to Congress because he allegedly suffers from cognitive decline.
“I don’t think the City of New York can afford a Joe Biden moment,” Ramos told the New York Post in an interview on April 17. “I think that there are real reasons why he’s not answering questions.”
“Even when he went before Congress, he just can’t remember details about what he did,” Ramos added. “I imagine having to resign in disgrace must have really taken a toll on, at the very least, at the very least, his ego, but most certainly his mental health.”
Cuomo resigned from office in August 2021 following a spate of accusations and a subsequent report from Attorney General Letitia James alleging he sexually harassed 11 women and retaliated against several who raised complaints about him. Cuomo has denied wrongdoing.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screen Capture/CSPAN)
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