House Subcommittee Recommends Charges Against Cuomo

The Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has referred former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to the Justice Department for potential prosecution, accusing him of lying to Congress regarding a Covid-19 report on nursing home deaths. The subcommittee alleges that Cuomo engaged in a 'conscious, calculated effort' to mislead regarding his administration's underreporting of nursing home fatalities, which were reportedly underestimated by nearly 50%. This referral, signed solely by subcommittee chairman Rep. Brad Wenstrup, has raised concerns over partisan motivations, as no Democrats supported the action. Cuomo's legal team has countered by urging the Justice Department to investigate what they perceive as an abuse of power by the subcommittee. Cuomo's spokesperson dismissed the referral as a politically motivated attempt to gain 'cheap political points'. The scrutiny of Cuomo's pandemic response has intensified following previous investigations into the true death toll in New York's nursing homes.