House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) on Monday sent a resubmitted criminal referral to Attorney General Pam Bondi, demanding the Department of Justice pursue charges against disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for lying under oath during pandemic-era investigations.
The letter, addressed directly to Bondi, accuses Cuomo of violating 18 U.S.C. §1001, a federal statute prohibiting false statements to Congress.
According to the letter:
On October 30, 2024, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (Select 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 knowledge, the Biden Administration ignored this referral despite clear facts and evidence. Accordingly, we request you review this referral and take appropriate action. For your reference, the referral is attached to this letter.
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
The criminal referral centers on Cuomo’s claim that he played no role in drafting a now-infamous New York State Department of Health report that cleared his administration of wrongdoing over its deadly nursing home policy.
TGP reported multiple times in 2020 how Governor Cuomo in New York implemented programs that ordered sick COVID patients back into elderly homes in the state. As a result, thousands of elderly people needlessly died in the state.
Then when the official counts of deaths in state nursing homes were requested from the DOJ, the numbers were fudged. The numbers reported were about 50% less than the real counts.
An investigation into Cuomo’s actions was put in place and Cuomo resigned as governor of the state. However, the investigation into illegal actions by Cuomo related to the huge number of nursing home deaths was dropped by both the Biden DOJ and the Manhattan DA.
“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,” said Chairman Comer.
“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. Let’s be clear: lying to Congress is a federal crime. Mr. 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.”
Relevant Nursing Home Investigation Timeline via Oversight Committee:
- March 25, 2020: The Cuomo Administration recklessly directed New York nursing homes and long-term care facilities to admit COVID-positive and potentially COVID-positive patients. As a result, New York’s most vulnerable population was recklessly exposed to COVID-19.
- July 6, 2020: The NYSDOH released a Report alleging nursing home staff — not the March 25 Directive — caused excess COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. According to witness testimony and new documents revealed in the Select Subcommittee’s referral, Mr. Cuomo personally drafted and edited portions of this purportedly independent and peer-reviewed report.
- January 28, 2021: New York State Attorney General Letitia James released an investigative report claiming, in part, that Mr. Cuomo and his team undercounted the total number of nursing home deaths by as much as 50 percent.
- May 19, 2023: The Select Subcommittee began its investigation into New York’s pandemic response and the disastrous March 25 Directive.
- As a part of this investigation, the Select Subcommittee conducted transcribed interviews with notable former New York State officials, such as 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 Select Subcommittee requested Mr. Cuomo appear for a transcribed interview.
- December 22, 2023 – March 5, 2024: The Select Subcommittee engaged in the negotiation and accommodation process with Mr. Cuomo and his legal team in an effort to secure his testimony.
- March 5, 2024: After months of unjustified and unreasonable delays, the Select Subcommittee was forced to announce a subpoena for Mr. Cuomo’s testimony.
- June 11, 2024: Mr. Cuomo appeared for a transcribed interview. During this interview, he testified that he was not involved in drafting the NYSDOH’s July 6 Report and that he did not review the Report prior to its public release. New evidence demonstrates these statements to be false.
- September 9, 2024: The Select Subcommittee released a nearly 50-page memo presenting evidence that Mr. Cuomo and his team were involved in the decision to issue New York’s disastrous March 25 Directive, and then, acted repeatedly to downplay the tragic aftermath of their decision.
- September 9, 2024: Mr. Cuomo’s attorney expressed her objections regarding the above-mentioned memo. In an effort to address those objections, the Select Subcommittee sent a series of additional questions to a former witness concerning his recent communication with Mr. Cuomo. (See September 25, 2024 for further information)
- September 10, 2024: Mr. Cuomo appeared for a hearing, at which he was held publicly accountable for his role in New York’s pandemic-era failures.
- September 10, 2024: The Select Subcommittee announced a subpoena for current New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Her administration has continued to withhold documents related to the Cuomo Administration’s nursing home disaster.
- September 25, 2024: The Select Subcommittee released evidence suggesting Mr. Cuomo attempted to inappropriately influence a witness.
- October 30, 2024: Mr. Cuomo was referred to the Justice Department for making false statements to Congress.
Read to the letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi here. The full criminal referral can be found here and an additional supporting transcript can be found here. Review former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s transcribed interview transcript here.
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