Home Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) on Monday despatched a resubmitted prison referral to Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi, demanding the Division of Justice pursue prices towards disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for mendacity below oath throughout pandemic-era investigations.
The letter, addressed on to Bondi, accuses Cuomo of violating 18 U.S.C. §1001, a federal statute prohibiting false statements to Congress.
In line with the letter:
On October 30, 2024, the Choose Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (Choose Subcommittee) referred former Governor of the State of New York, Andrew M. Cuomo, for making criminally false statements in violation 18 U.S.C. §1001.1
To our information, the Biden Administration ignored this referral regardless of clear information and proof. Accordingly, we request you evaluate this referral and take applicable motion. In your reference, the referral is hooked up to this letter.
The Committee on Oversight and Authorities Reform is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. Home of Representatives and has broad authority to analyze “any matter” at “any time” below Home Rule X.
The prison referral facilities on Cuomo’s declare that he performed no function in drafting a now-infamous New York State Division of Well being report that cleared his administration of wrongdoing over its lethal nursing residence coverage.
TGP reported a number of instances in 2020 how Governor Cuomo in New York implemented programs that ordered sick COVID sufferers again into aged houses within the state. In consequence, 1000’s of aged individuals needlessly died within the state.
Then when the official counts of deaths in state nursing houses had been requested from the DOJ, the numbers were fudged. The numbers reported had been about 50% lower than the actual counts.
An investigation into Cuomo’s actions was put in place and Cuomo resigned as governor of the state. Nevertheless, the investigation into unlawful actions by Cuomo associated to the massive variety of nursing home deaths was dropped by each the Biden DOJ and the Manhattan DA.
“Andrew Cuomo is a person with a historical past of corruption and deceit, now caught red-handed mendacity to Congress throughout the Choose Subcommittee’s investigation into the COVID-19 nursing residence tragedy in New York,” stated Chairman Comer.
“This wasn’t a slip-up—it was a calculated cover-up by a person searching for to defend himself from duty for the devastating lack of life in New York’s nursing houses. Let’s be clear: mendacity to Congress is a federal crime. Mr. Cuomo have to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the legislation. The Home Oversight Committee is ready to totally cooperate with the Justice Division’s investigation into Andrew Cuomo’s actions and guarantee he’s held to account.”
Related Nursing Dwelling Investigation Timeline by way of Oversight Committee:
- March 25, 2020: The Cuomo Administration recklessly directed New York nursing houses and long-term care services to confess COVID-positive and probably COVID-positive sufferers. In consequence, New York’s most weak inhabitants was recklessly uncovered to COVID-19.
- July 6, 2020: The NYSDOH launched a Report alleging nursing residence workers — not the March 25 Directive — brought on extra COVID-19 deaths in nursing houses. In line with witness testimony and new paperwork revealed within the Choose Subcommittee’s referral, Mr. Cuomo personally drafted and edited parts of this purportedly impartial and peer-reviewed report.
- January 28, 2021: New York State Legal professional Normal Letitia James launched an investigative report claiming, partly, that Mr. Cuomo and his staff undercounted the entire variety of nursing residence deaths by as a lot as 50 p.c.
- May 19, 2023: The Choose Subcommittee started its investigation into New York’s pandemic response and the disastrous March 25 Directive.
- As part of this investigation, the Choose Subcommittee carried out transcribed interviews with notable former New York State officers, similar to Dr. Howard Zucker, Dr. Eleanor Adams, Dr. James Malatras, Mr. Gareth Rhodes, Ms. Linda Lacewell, Ms. Elizabeth Garvey, and Ms. Melissa DeRosa.
- December 1, 2023: The Choose Subcommittee requested Mr. Cuomo seem for a transcribed interview.
- December 22, 2023 – March 5, 2024: The Choose Subcommittee engaged within the negotiation and lodging course of with Mr. Cuomo and his authorized staff in an effort to safe his testimony.
- March 5, 2024: After months of unjustified and unreasonable delays, the Choose Subcommittee was compelled to announce a subpoena for Mr. Cuomo’s testimony.
- June 11, 2024: Mr. Cuomo appeared for a transcribed interview. Throughout this interview, he testified that he was not concerned in drafting the NYSDOH’s July 6 Report and that he didn’t evaluate the Report previous to its public launch. New proof demonstrates these statements to be false.
- September 9, 2024: The Choose Subcommittee launched an almost 50-page memo presenting proof that Mr. Cuomo and his staff had been concerned within the resolution to problem New York’s disastrous March 25 Directive, after which, acted repeatedly to downplay the tragic aftermath of their resolution.
- September 9, 2024: Mr. Cuomo’s lawyer expressed her objections relating to the above-mentioned memo. In an effort to deal with these objections, the Choose Subcommittee despatched a sequence of further inquiries to a former witness regarding his latest communication with Mr. Cuomo. (See September 25, 2024 for additional info)
- September 10, 2024: Mr. Cuomo appeared for a listening to, at which he was held publicly accountable for his function in New York’s pandemic-era failures.
- September 10, 2024: The Choose Subcommittee introduced a subpoena for present New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Her administration has continued to withhold paperwork associated to the Cuomo Administration’s nursing residence catastrophe.
- September 25, 2024: The Choose Subcommittee launched proof suggesting Mr. Cuomo tried to inappropriately affect a witness.
- October 30, 2024: Mr. Cuomo was referred to the Justice Division for making false statements to Congress.
Learn to the letter to Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi here. The complete prison referral will be discovered here and an extra supporting transcript will be discovered here. Evaluation former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s transcribed interview transcript here.
