Malliotakis: DOJ Investigation into Cuomo Should Continue
(WASHINGTON, DC) - Today, Congresswoman Nicole Malltiotakis (NY-11) joined Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21) and every member of New York's Republican Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson requesting the Department of Justice immediately issue subpoenas for Governor Cuomo, the Secretary to the Governor, the New York State Commissioner of Health, and their staff on all documentation and communications related to their nursing home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to a thorough update on the Civil Rights Division's inquiry into New York State's handling of the COVID-19 crisis in nursing homes.
“For months, my colleagues and I have pushed for an independent investigation into Governor Cuomo’s mishandling of nursing homes that led to thousands of deaths during this pandemic,” said Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. “Even after there were alternative facilities to treat COVID-positive patients, the governor mandated nursing homes take COVID-positive patients even if they couldn’t care for them. Now, we learn that his department of health covered up the true number of lives lost and underreported it by thousands. In October, the Department of Justice announced that it was administering an inquiry into this matter, and I sincerely hope their investigation continues independently without any interference from the Biden Administration.”
In May, Congresswoman Malliotakis, who was a member of the State Assembly at the time, was the first to call for an investigation of the Governor's mishandling of nursing homes during the pandemic.
"Today, my colleagues and I continue the fight towards justice for the people of New York," said Congresswoman Elise Stefanik."We will work to ensure that Acting Attorney General Wilkinson and President Biden support this pursuit for the truth about Governor Cuomo and his administration, considering the scathing evidence presented in Attorney General James' recent report. Tens of thousands of innocent people in our great state died, and unlike the Governor, we care."
James' 76-page report alleges serious discrepancies in the number of deaths reported by the NYSDOH and the data given to her investigators. Some nursing homes show discrepancies as much as 50%, as James' report accuses the state of only accounting for deaths at nursing home facilities, rather than including the deaths of residents who were transferred to a hospital and later died.
James' report also found that many nursing homes did not comply with state infection control policies, which require homes to isolate residents who test positive for coronavirus. In March, the NYSDOH ordered nursing homes to accept individuals who tested positive for coronavirus. The directive remained even after the state set up emergency hospitals to treat positive patients, including at the Javits Center, Staten Island's South Beach Psychiatric Center, and on the U.S. Navy Ship Comfort.
