NEW YORK (Legal Newsline - The Wall Street Journal is reporting that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn started seeking nursing home data from the Cuomo administration after the Democratic governor’s top aide admitted earlier this month that the administration withheld the true number of Covid deaths from lawmakers and the public.
In a February 10 call with Democratic lawmakers, Melissa DeRosa admitted to Democratic lawmakers that the administration withheld the information.
"Basically, we froze, because then we were in a position where we weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice or what we give to you guys, what we started saying was going to be used against us while we weren't sure if there was going to be an investigation," DeRosa said, based on transcripts of the call.
The growing scandal stems from a March 25 Department of Health directive that sent recovering Covid patients from hospitals to nursing homes. State lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are calling for investigations, stripping the governor of his emergency powers declared under the pandemic, and even impeachment.
This Monday, Democrats, who preside over majorities in both houses, plan to discuss the next course of action, including Sen. Allesandra Biaggi’s (D-Westchester) bill that strips the governor of his emergency powers.
For their parts, Republican leaders have called for investigations on both the federal and state levels, and have begun the process of forming an impeachment commission, according to a statement from Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Oswego).
“The FBI’s investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his administration is an important step toward holding those accountable for the state's COVID-19 nursing home coverup,” Barclay said. “Assembly Republicans have called for investigations at the state and federal level, and applaud the federal agencies for moving forward. However, this investigation does not excuse the legislative majorities from doing their part and ensuring every avenue of transparency and justice is explored.”
The admission of coronavirus-positive patients into New York nursing homes under March 25 guidance from the state Health Department was associated with a statistically significant increase in resident deaths, according to an analysis by the Center for Public Policy.
“The coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc in nursing homes across the country and around the world, including in jurisdictions that did not adopt policies similar to those in the Cuomo administration’s March 25 guidance memo,” said Bill Hammond, Senior Fellow for Health Policy at the Center. “However, this analysis indicates that the guidance may have made a bad situation worse—and points to the need for further research to determine the best policy before the state faces another pandemic.”