Justice department opens inquiry into Andrew Cuomo’s Covid-19 response

The justice department has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor and current frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race.

The investigation was launched after Republicans accused Cuomo of mishandling the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, multiple outlets reported on Tuesday.

Kicked off about a month ago by the US attorney’s office in Washington, the inquiry follows a criminal referral made by James Comer, a Republican representative of Kentucky and chair of the House committee on oversight and government reform.

In the referral, Comer recommended Cuomo be “charged with making false statements to Congress”, saying that Cuomo lied on “numerous occasions about material aspects of New York’s Covid-19 nursing home disaster and the ensuing cover-up”.

Cuomo faced widespread calls for his resignation in February 2021 after allegations emerged that his administration was underreporting Covid-19-related deaths across the state’s nursing homes by as much as half.

A leaked recording of Melissa DeRosa, a top Cuomo aide, had her admitting to Democrats that the state withheld the actual numbers out of fear that the justice department would pursue complaints of state misconduct, according to the New York Post.

As part of his referral, Comer said: “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.”

He went on to say: “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.”

In response to the reports, a Cuomo spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, said: “We have never been informed of any such matter, so why would someone leak it now? The answer is obvious: this is lawfare and election interference plain and simple – something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against.

“Governor Cuomo testified truthfully to the best of his recollection about events from four years earlier, and he offered to address any follow-up questions from the subcommittee – but from the beginning this was all transparently political,” Azzopardi added.

The US attorney’s office, which was previously led by Ed Martin, is now headed by Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host and prosecutor. Pirro was appointed by Trump after Martin’s nomination to permanently run the office was withdrawn following Senate Republicans’ concern over his ability to serve, the New York Times reported.

Despite his frontrunner status in the mayoral race, Cuomo has been an embattled figure in politics in recent years. He resigned as governor in 2021 after an investigation by the state attorney general, Letitia James, which found that he sexually harassed multiple women and retaliated against those who made complaints.

Shortly after Cuomo announced his decision to run for New York City mayor in March, the justice department dropped its corruption case against the city’s current mayor, Eric Adams. Adams pleaded not guilty to accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials in exchange for favors.

The apparent investigation into Cuomo comes as Adams, a Democrat who announced his intention to run for re-election as an independent, is at the heart of a scandal over his acquiescence to Trump officials to cooperate on immigration crackdowns while attempting to evade criminal charges.