“Justice that is long overdue”: Andrew Cuomo referred for prosecution by COVID Select Committee

Cuomo, for his part, has pushed back on the accusations from the COVID Select Committee, but the allegations from Republicans are nearly air-tight. In one instance, they cite his hand-written edits on a document he claimed under oath to have never seen. That specific document low-balled nursing home deaths and was used to combat criticism of his administration’s pandemic-era policies

While the committee is bipartisan, the Democrats on it were notably silent in the wake of the bombshell referral from Republicans. 

For many of Cuomo’s longtime critics in Albany and in Washington, D.C., the referral, announced by Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R., Ohio), is a relief. Some, like Tenney, have demanded his resignation since 2014, when he “created an anti-corruption commission that got too close to him and he shut it down,” she said. After her successful 2020 campaign, Tenney became the first federally elected lawmaker to demand Cuomo’s resignation, prompting others to follow her lead.

Following Wenstrup’s referral of Cuomo to the DOJ, Tenney’s fellow New Yorker, Rep. Mike Lawler, told the Reporter that Cuomo is “a lying sack of shit. Not only did he exercise extreme negligence in his COVID-19 policies, leading to the deaths of thousands of New York seniors, but he subsequently tried to cover his guilt in a web of lies — including in testimony before Congress. The referral of Cuomo by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic for criminal prosecution isn’t politics — it’s justice that is long overdue.”

Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne told the Reporter that Cuomo “lied to New Yorkers and Americans across the country. Then he attacked and demeaned anyone who dared to question him. He has never apologized for his deadly decisions or his corrupt coverup. He is unfit for public office.”

“He should stick to his failing podcast,” Byrne added, referring to Cuomo’s YouTube page. During Byrne’s years in New York’s legislature, Byrne was the first lawmaker to get Janice Dean on the witness list for a hearing, before the State Senate removed her from the list. 

Following that, Byrne said, “we held our own additional forum to ensure other families who were unable to tell their stories, including Janice’s, could have their stories heard.” Dean, who had been well-regarded for her time as a senior meteorologist, lost her in-laws due in part to policies promulgated by Cuomo’s administration, she contends.

“The timing of Cuomo’s white-washed report defending his deadly March 25th 2020 Directive forcing nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients lined right up with Cuomo’s meeting with publishers for his disgusting book deal — a book that was produced with support from taxpayer resources including the Governor’s public employees,” Byrne said.

Elsewhere in New York, a former longtime cop told the Reporter that Wenstrup’s moves are both merited, and ones she herself would have sought if she had been investigating him. “Andrew Cuomo deserves to answer for his dangerous nursing home order and coverup,” Alison Esposito, the former deputy inspector and commanding officer of the 70th Police Precinct, told the Reporter. 15,000 families deserve answers and justice and we will not rest until they get it.” 

One watchdog praised the COVID Select Committee’s work to try and hold anyone “in government, at any level, is held accountable for mendacity related to COVID-19.”

“The committee’s evidence indicates the governor was seeking cover for his decisions as early as June 2020 and it’s a safe bet that others, especially in the public health bureaucracy, were doing the same,” Michael Chamberlain, the director of Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT), told the Reporter. “PPT and others have uncovered evidence of breaches of scientific integrity and civil service ethics during the pandemic very high up in HHS. Mr. Cuomo’s nursing home decision had tragic consequences, and there is no excuse for dodging blame and ultimately lying to Congress.”

While many feel that Cuomo’s potential comeuppance is a long time coming, Chamberlain cautioned that there is much more to do. “The governor was far from being the only one abusing and losing the public’s trust,” he said.