House GOP-led panel refers Ex-N.Y. Gov. Cuomo to DOJ for prosecution
April 22 (UPI) -- A House GOP-led panel has renewed its call for the Justice Department to prosecute Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic governor of New York, on accusations of lying to Congress about the state's handling of COVID-19 nursing home policies.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., in his position as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a criminal referral for Cuomo to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday recommending the former governor be charged with making false statements to Congress.
According to the criminal referral, Cuomo lied during testimony when he denied being involved in drafting a New York State Department Health report that was used to evade criticism over COVID-19 policies for nursing homes.
The report seemingly blamed COVID-19-infected staff for bringing the virus into nursing homes while undercounting the number of COVID-19-related deaths in those facilities.
The since-shuttered Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic had referred Cuomo for prosecution in the fall, but then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, under the previous Biden administration, appears not to have taken action on the request.
"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 Monday in a statement.
"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."
He added that lying to Congress is a federal crime and that 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," he said.
Cuomo was governor of New York from 2011 to 2021 when he resigned from office amid allegations that he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women in recent years.
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