President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is launching a criminal investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, accused of lying about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington opened the inquiry into Cuomo close to a month ago after senior officials in the DOJ called for the corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams to be dismissed, The New York Times reported.
The inquiry followed a call from Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to prosecute Cuomo over statements he made to the committee investigating his management of the pandemic when the virus was running rampant in nursing homes.
In accordance with a Cuomo directive, more than 9,000 recovering COVID-19 patients were released from hospitals into nursing homes in New York state.
In March 2020, then-Gov. Cuomo issued a directive prohibiting nursing homes from refusing to accept patients who had tested positive for COVID-19. He later rescinded the directive amid speculation that it had worsened outbreaks.
Then-Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, at the time chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, said Cuomo made “multiple criminally false statements” to Congress about his handling of the 2020 COVID-19 nursing home deaths.
Cuomo is currently running for mayor of New York against Adams, who is seeking reelection as an independent. Cuomo is among 11 Democrats competing in the party primary, set for June 24.