A House subcommittee says former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made false statements to Congress and will refer criminal charges to the U.S. Department of Justice. The referral cites Cuomo’s statements to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on his involvement in the editing or reviewing of a controversial July 2020 report on COVID deaths of nursing home residents, Politico reports. “Mr. Cuomo provided false statements to the Select Subcommittee in what appears to be a conscious, calculated effort to insulate himself from accountability,” said panel chair Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH). Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi accused the panel of a “taxpayer-funded farce” and misusing its authority. He said the committee has “no basis for this pre-election MAGA exercise and affirmatively chose to act unethically in order to help their masters score cheap political points.” Earlier Wednesday, a Cuomo attorney filed his own criminal referral to DOJ that accused the House panel of “the misuse of government resources and the invasion of state prerogatives.” The House panel’s referral comes as Cuomo has been considering a political comeback.
The former governor has not ruled out a bid for New York City mayor as incumbent Democrat Eric Adams fights federal corruption charges. Cuomo resigned in 2021 after a report from state Attorney General Letitia James determined he sexually harassed 11 women. He has denied wrongdoing. Polls have shown Cuomo, who retains high name recognition, competitive in a Democratic mayoral primary. His critics on the left and right believe his COVID record makes him vulnerable with voters. Cuomo became a national celebrity for his initial handling of the pandemic and his televised press conferences became appointment viewing for homebound New Yorkers. His nursing home policies came under scrutiny after the state Department of Health said that the facilities could not turn away COVID-positive patients amid concerns hospitals would fill with sick people. As criticism mounted in 2020, state health officials issued a report that tallied nursing home residents’ fatalities. A separate assessment by James’ office in January 2021 determined the Cuomo administration significantly undercounted deaths of people who initially became sick with COVID in nursing homes and died. Cuomo told House investigators he did not view the July 2020 report. He said, “Maybe it was in the inbox, but I did not.”
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