James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, sent a criminal referral Monday to Justice, recommending that former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo be charged with making false statements to Congress. Andrew Cuomo should be charged with making false statements before Congress.
Comer claims that Cuomo lied “knowingly and willingly” to the House Select Subcommittee regarding his involvement and knowledge of a 2020 Report regarding the COVID-19 ‘nursing home catastrophe’ and “the ensuing concealment.”
Comer and the Select Committee Republicans claim that Cuomo played a major role in the drafting and editing of the New York State Department of Health Report to avoid responsibility for the thousands of lives lost during the pandemic.
“Andrew Cuomo has a long history of corruption and lies. He was caught lying to Congress in the Select Subcommittee investigation into the COVID-19 New York nursing home tragedy. It wasn’t an accident, but a deliberate cover-up to avoid responsibility for the deaths in New York nursing homes,” Comer stated in a release on Monday.
Cuomo has been rated as the leading Democratic candidate in the New York City mayor’s race. Election day is November 4th.
Select Committee Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) sent a criminal referral dated October 30 to former Attorney General Merrick Garland, asserting that Cuomo had made false statements during a transcripted interview with the Select Committee on June 11th.
Comer stated in his letter dated Tuesday to Pam Bondi, Attorney General, “To our knowledge, this referral was ignored by the Biden administration despite clear facts.”
At issue is that on March 25, 2020, Cuomo issued a directive that New York nursing homes and long-term care facilities admit COVID-positive and potentially COVID-positive patients.
The New York Health Department’s report, released on July 6, 2020, claimed that the excess COVID-19 death rate in nursing homes was due to nursing home staff, not the directive of March 25, but the New York Health Department.
Republicans posted a timeline that stated: “Accordingly to witness testimony and the new documents revealed by the Select Subcommittee referral, Mr. Cuomo drafted and edited parts of this purportedly peer-reviewed and independent report.”
Cuomo told the committee, however, “He had not been involved in either the writing or the review of the Report on July 6. Documents prove that this statement is false.”
He also told the committee he didn’t know if anyone outside of the Health Department had reviewed the report. Republicans have documents “that again demonstrate that the statement is false.”
“Let me be clear: Lying to Congress is a Federal Crime. Cuomo should be prosecuted in the strictest sense of the law. The House Oversight Committee will fully cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigations into Andrew Cuomo’s actions to ensure that he is held accountable,” Comer stated in Monday’s press release.
According to the Long Term Care Community Coalition, at least 17,425 COVID-related deaths have been recorded in New York long-term care facilities, including 10,825 within facilities.