Andrew Cuomo’s COVID Response Constituted ‘Medical Malpractice’ – One America News Network
OAN Staff Abril Elfi
12:55 PM – Tuesday, December 3, 2024
A report from the House has revealed that former Governor Andrew Cuomo may have attempted to “inappropriately” sway the testimony of a former aide prior to speaking with a House panel examining the COVID-19 policies of his administration.
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On Monday, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic published a document indicating that Cuomo “likely made false statements” regarding his involvement in pandemic decision-making.
This includes claims that he was “directly involved” in the March 2020 order, according to the report, which mandated nursing homes to track recovering COVID-19 patients. There are also allegations noted in the report concerning how Cuomo allegedly “downplayed pandemic-related resident fatalities” in a report released in July 2020.
Previously, the House had unveiled documents detailing specific allegations related to Cuomo’s actions.
In response, Cuomo and his spokesperson dismissed the report as a partisan attack by Republicans.
“This is the same weak gruel that the MAGA Republicans on this committee have been promoting for months, if not years,” stated Cuomo spokesperson Richard Azzopardi.
Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) highlighted in the report’s introductory letter that there was bipartisan agreement on several issues, including “that former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was involved in medical malpractice and concealed the total number of nursing home deaths in New York.”
The New York Post elaborated on the report’s findings.
“Cuomo’s name is referenced 203 times in the 500-page report, with over 40 pages focusing on the pandemic response. The March 25, 2020 directive from the Cuomo administration to admit or readmit recovering COVID-19 patients into nursing homes was deemed ‘medical malpractice,’ ‘contrary to established science,’ and inconsistent with federal guidance — while the Executive Chamber ‘attempted to hide it.’ Contrary to his denials during House testimony, Cuomo and his top aides were ‘directly involved’ in and approved the controversial directive, which was rescinded following public backlash. Cuomo administration officials testified that the governor ordered the criticized July 6, 2020 Department of Health report — which was accused of underreporting nursing home resident deaths from COVID — to counter criticism of the March 25 directive. Cuomo played a role in editing the July report and directed individuals outside the government, including Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling and Greater NY Hospital CEO Kenneth Raske, to review it. A memo obtained by the House panel indicated that Dowling offered to assist in ‘rewriting’ it. Cuomo’s executive chamber opted to exclude ‘out-of-facility’ fatalities — for instance, nursing home residents who died after being transferred to hospitals — from the July report, significantly diminishing the total death toll,” The Post reported.
The panel also inferred that “Mr. Andrew Cuomo Likely Gave False Statements to the Select Subcommittee in Violation of 18 U.S.C,” which constitutes a federal offense that could lead to a five-year prison sentence if proven.
In October, the committee reported that it had referred Cuomo’s “criminally false statements” to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for potential legal action.
Meanwhile, Azzopardi argued that the House was targeting “perceived political adversaries.”
“From the outset, this has been an abuse of power and a misuse of taxpayer funds aimed at punishing perceived political enemies — including Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, Governor Cuomo, and ‘the deep state’ — that does nothing to enhance our preparedness for future pandemics,” he said.
He cited federal data indicating that New York was ranked 39th in terms of per capita nursing home deaths in 2020.
“The DOJ — three times — along with the Manhattan DA and others, reviewed the nursing home issue and found no wrongdoing, while the baseless civil lawsuit initiated by the same individuals working closely with this committee was dismissed in court,” Azzopardi added.
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