Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 10
The House subcommittee tasked with investigating the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday subpoenaed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in relation to his administration’s handling of nursing homes during the pandemic, according to documents first obtained by ABC News.
Specifically, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is seeking to question Cuomo about one of his administration’s most controversial COVID-era directives: instructing nursing homes to admit recovering COVID-positive patients from hospitals, a move that has faced criticism that it led to increased deaths in nursing homes.
Cuomo, who was at one point heralded for his leadership during the pandemic and became known for his daily briefings, has defended the March 2020 directive, which he reversed weeks later. He said it was based squarely on federal guidelines and accused those investigating the issue of “playing politics.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Cuomo’s spokesperson said the subpoena was “an obvious press charade” and said that Congress is “play(ing) politics with Covid and weaponiz(ing) people’s pain and loss of loves ones.”
In the seven-page letter to Cuomo that accompanied Tuesday’s subpoena, the committee said his testimony was “vital” as the panel continues it to investigate “the effectiveness of federal guidance and regulations” that were implemented during the pandemic.
A New York State Department of Health report that analyzed the effects of the directive found it “could not be the driver” of cases or deaths in nursing homes. An impeachment investigation into Cuomo later found that report had been “substantially revised by the Executive Chamber and largely intended to combat criticisms” about the directive.
Cuomo has also come under fire for allegedly misreporting the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. In early 2021, a report from New York State Attorney General Letitia James found that COVID deaths in New York state had been “undercounted” by as much as 50%.
The subpoena for Cuomo’s interview with the committee came after months of correspondence with his attorney in an effort to schedule a voluntary interview, which the committee alleges in the letter was an attempt by Cuomo to “delay and undermine our investigation.” The letter lays out dozens of emails and multiple meetings between Cuomo’s attorney and subcommittee staff throughout December, January, and February, culminating in Cuomo’s attorney saying he would be available in August.
Source: ABC News
