Andrew Cuomo, the ex-Governor of New York, who resigned his Democratic seat amidst a scandal of sexual misconduct in 2021, has recently been summoned to give his account regarding the handling of nursing homes during the notorious COVID pandemic. This was disclosed by a GOP-anchored congressional committee this Tuesday. Cuomo has been legally bound to make an appearance for a deposition scheduled for May 24. The core emphasis of this appearance will be his directive issued in March 2020, which compelled nursing homes plus long-term care facilities in New York to admit or allow re-entry to COVID-19 patients that could potentially be infectious and had not undergone testing.
According to the statement released by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Cuomo’s order seemed to unheedingly expose the most susceptible population of New York to the fatal COVID-19, bringing in tragic results. The statement further insinuated that more than 15,000 individuals lost their lives in nursing homes or long-term care facilities across New York during Cuomo’s administration due to this order.
The panel’s statement also indicated the presence of evidence that accentuates that Cuomo might have meddled in secretive actions to conceal the substantial mortality rate in New York’s nursing homes from the public eye. This was allegedly done to redirect political implications away from his administration.
Chairman Brad Wenstrup voiced his concerns saying that the policies Cuomo implemented pertaining to nursing homes had mournful outcomes for New York’s most defenseless population. The ex-governor jeopardized the lives of the elderly residents and initiated a cover-up operation to disguise the actual fatality rate in these centers. The chairman criticized the prioritization of political considerations over medical counsel in these grave decisions.
Wenstrup further believed that Cuomo must provide satisfactory explanations to the families of the 15,000 individuals who passed away in the nursing homes during the COVID-19 outbreak. His essential account would help unravel the circumstances which gave birth to these misguided policies. It would also enable lawmakers to ensure such devastating errors aren’t repeated. Wenstrup stressed that Cuomo’s evasion of accountability to Congress needs to come to an end and he should start responsibly answering the inquiries of the American people.
In response to this summons, Cuomo’s representative, Rich Azzopardi, labeled the subpoena as a mere media theater. He remained firm that multiple examinations revealed no wrongdoings on the former governor’s part. This comment was made, particularly in relation to the subpoena signed by Oversight Chairman James Comer.
In the midst of 2021, post the issuance of a report by the New York Attorney General Letitia James which outlined an undercounting of nursing home resident deaths by approximately 50%, Cuomo defended himself. He asserted that despite a slight “delay”, all deaths within nursing homes and hospitals were comprehensively reported during the multi-state scrutiny by the Department of Justice.
Cuomo justified the delay citing his office’s preoccupation with the aforementioned inquiry and in an attempt to downplay the severity of the situation, declared, ‘Everyone did the best they could’.
Rita Glavin, the legal counsel to Cuomo, penned a letter to Wenstrup, made public by POLITICO on March 4, pleading him to reconsider enacting a subpoena. Detailing her client’s willingness to cooperate, she mentioned that the committee had been furnished with four possible August dates for a transcribed interview, keeping Cuomo’s extensive legal commitments in mind.
Glavin vehemently emphasized Cuomo’s spirit of cooperation. In her communication with the committee, she mentioned that they offered to provide written responses to any “Questions For the Record”, to lend as much information as needed. She also assured that the alternative dates for Cuomo’s interview would be open for discussion if the committee could not arrange for the same on the proposed dates.
However, underlining Cuomo’s legal commitments, she requested some flexibility so that his legal commitments and her professional obligations could be accommodated.
Despite this, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Tuesday iterated that it made a sincere effort to coordinate a voluntary interview with Cuomo on his COVID-related nursing home mandates.
Adding weight to their side of the story, the committee mentioned that Cuomo had continually and unreasonably procrastinated their investigation process. He ignored multiple outreach attempts by the Select Subcommittee staff to negotiate interview dates and provided unsatisfactory availability, putting the interview nine months behind the original schedule.
In the end, they expressed their despair over the unavoidable necessity of today’s subpoena to elucidate the truth about New York’s pandemic-era nursing home policies and provide the demanded answers to all Americans and New Yorkers.