Cuomo subpoenaed to testify in Congress about COVID-19 nursing home deaths

The Daily Gazette - 3/6/2024

Mar. 5—Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo received a subpoena Tuesday to testify in front of the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in May.

Subcommittee Chair U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said in a release that the subcommittee has acted in "good faith" to schedule a voluntary transcribed interview with the former governor, but said Cuomo has repeatedly delayed or ignored attempts to negotiate a time and date for an interview.

The subcommittee is investigating the COVID-19 pandemic and has sought to question Cuomo over his controversial March 2020 decision to require nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients.

Since the subcommittee's inception last year, House Republicans have led hearings on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine and theories about the COVID-19 pandemic's origins, as well as some states' and organizations' pandemic policies. U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., is also a member of the subcommittee.

Two state investigations by state Attorney General Letitia James and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli also found evidence the state Department of Health under the Cuomo administration knowingly hid or undercounted the number of nursing home deaths.

"Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo implemented nursing home policies that had deadly consequences for New York's most vulnerable population. Not only did the former Governor put the elderly in harm's way, but he also attempted to cover-up his failures by hiding the true nursing home death rate. It appears that politics, not medicine, was responsible for these decisions, and that while Mr. Cuomo is adept at seeking legal advice, he is not necessarily adept at seeking medical advice," Wenstrup said in a statement. "Former Governor Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. His testimony is crucial to uncover the circumstances that led to his misguided policies and for ensuring that fatal mistakes never happen again. It is well past time for Cuomo to stop dodging accountability to Congress and start answering honestly to the American people."

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, said the former governor's lawyer provided available dates two weeks ago to the subcommittee and has also offered to have any questions answered in writing. Azzopardi called the subpoena a "charade."

"The simple fact remains that this issue has been reviewed three times by the Department of Justice under Trump and Biden, as well as Congress and the Manhattan District Attorney who found [nothing] there," Azzopardi said in a statement. "New York followed the guidance put forth by the Trump administration in March of 2020 — as did other Democratic and Republican states. If they have a problem with that, they should look in the mirror. Congress knows this, but it's not about the facts, this is about politics."

Cuomo is being subpoenaed to appear for a deposition on May 24.

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