ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, and the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic mutually referred one another to the Department of Justice (DOJ). On October 30, Cuomo said the subcommittee—chaired by Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup of Ohio—overstepped federal authority; the subcommittee, meanwhile, said Cuomo committed perjury.
The DOJ has not commented on whether it will pursue the requests to investigate Cuomo, Wenstrup, or the subcommittee. A spokesperson could not confirm that DOJ had even received the publicly available letters. You can also take a look at the letters, testimonies, and lawsuits mentioned here at the bottom of this story.
Through attorney Sarah Sulkowski, Cuomo asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Rep. Brad Wenstrup and the subcommittee, claiming it misused federal resources by interrogating New York’s COVID response. “Nothing in House Resolution 5—or anywhere else—authorizes the subcommittee to investigate a state’s internal regulatory advisory concerning nursing-home admissions,” Sulkowski’s letter argued. “Nothing in the Constitution grants Congress the power to police state regulatory agencies.”
In his letter to Garland, Wenstrup defended the hearing. He said the subcommittee was justified because it examined how the state applied federal guidelines. He claimed that Cuomo lied about his involvement in a 2020 state health report on nursing homes, arguing that his misleading testimony might violate federal criminal statutes.
“Mr. Cuomo made multiple criminally false statements, including that he was neither involved in the drafting nor the review of the July 6 Report,” he wrote. The letter asserts that Cuomo’s actions “may constitute a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001,” the federal statute on false statements.
At issue is the July 6, 2020 report, “Factors Associated with Nursing Home Infections and Fatalities in New York State During the COVID-19 Global Health Crisis,” that allegedly left residents who later died in hospitals out of the official death toll. How involved was Cuomo in its drafting, review, and external feedback process?
Between March and June 2020, 37,500 nursing home workers tested positive for COVID, the report found, with outbreaks blamed mainly on community spread among staff. It said that admissions did not directly cause deaths, because most patients admitted to nursing homes from hospitals were no longer contagious.
Cuomo testified that he did not review or edit the report, which allegedly undercounted nursing home fatalities. But Wenstrup, the subcommittee chair, called that a “conscious” and “deliberate” lie to escape responsibility for causing so much death. Citing emails, internal documents, and the testimony of former executive staffer Farrah Kennedy, the referral from the subcommittee reveals evidence of Cuomo’s involvement.
Kennedy, an executive assistant for the governor, testified that Cuomo would sometimes literally stand over her shoulder to dictate document edits. And although he had no email account, he’d often rely on aides to communicate such edits.
Cuomo himself has maintained that early data on COVID-19 deaths was unreliable and that he focused “on releasing numbers people could trust.” But Wenstrup’s letter includes roughly 100 pages of argumentation, including images of draft pages of the report in question, covered in handwritten notes. On Oct. 8, 2024, Kennedy testified to the subcommittee that, while she didn’t remember many specifics about the 2020 report, she could nonetheless identify the handwriting as Cuomo’s.
Not only did they question the extent of Cuomo’s role in the report, but the subcommittee also accused him of trying to influence witnesses and delay his testimony. The subcommittee maintains that they interviewed several former state officials to find many examples of the former governor interfering.
Cuomo owned up to no part of drafting or reviewing the report, said he didn’t talk about peer review, and claimed that no third parties helped create it. Disagreeing, the subcommittee argued that these lies also forced them to devote additional resources to the investigation. And when the subcommittee subpoenaed current Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, they claim to have turned up whistleblower claims against Cuomo.
“Unfortunately, Governor Cuomo was dishonest with New Yorkers, stonewalled our bipartisan committee’s investigation, and lied before Congress,” said Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the only New Yorker on the subcommittee. “We obtained as much information as possible given his limited cooperation, the Chairman has referred the evidence to the DOJ, and it’s now up to them to ensure justice is served.”
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi countered, calling the committee’s referral “a taxpayer-funded farce” aimed at scoring “cheap political points.” He added, “The committee counsels know there is no basis for this pre-election [MAGA] exercise.”
The referral letter was signed solely by Wenstrup without the endorsement of Democratic ranking member Rep. Raul Ruiz, possibly hinting at a partisan split. Even so, Democratic New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said, “Cuomo lied not only to Congress, but also grieving families after sending their loved ones to COVID-filled nursing homes against CDC guidelines, to protect his $5 million book deal. He should face accountability for all of it.”
Meanwhile, Cuomo’s letter suggested that the hearing’s true intent was to bolster lawsuits against him. His lawyer theorized that the subcommittee coordinated with Janice Dean and Sean Newman, a married couple involved in such litigation. Sulkowski’s letter accused Wenstrup and the subcommittee of “colluding” with Dean and others in a manner that “far exceeded its jurisdiction and appears to have been an improper effort to advantage the interests of private litigants.”
The testimony from Cuomo that Wenstrup considered criminally deceitful was not recorded on video, but the transcript appears at the bottom of this story. Even so, the video below from the Associated Press shows the full 2.5-hour hearing before the subcommittee, featuring more from Cuomo, on September 10:
Thus far, no one has alleged that Cuomo committed any specific perjuries on September 10. Dean attended it, however, and Cuomo’s letter highlights social media photos of her and Wenstrup allegedly “colluding” after the hearing.
The letter also noted that Wenstrup appeared on Dean’s podcast, where he suggested Cuomo’s legal challenges were “indefensible.” Cuomo’s lawyer alludes to a biased investigation motivated by personal vendettas and depending on improperly shared information.
“Pay attention to what happens next,” Dean allegedly tweeted at a Cuomo supporter after her husband’s lawsuit against the former governor was dismissed at the end of September. Sulkowski’s letter features a screenshot of the post, ending with, “Enjoy your short-lived celebration.”
On October 24, an appeal was filed in that matter, “Arbeeny v. Cuomo.” It argued that Cuomo’s March 25, 2020 directive exposed vulnerable nursing home residents to COVID, directly causing deaths that should have been preventable. The complaint claimed that the state manipulated data to hide how many had died, and that officials had violated the constitutional rights of the deceased.
Here is the referral letter from Cuomo to the DOJ:
And from Wenstrup and the subcommittee to the DOJ:
Read through Cuomo’s June 11 testimony here:
Followed by Farrah Kennedy’s on October 8:
Here is the 2020 report, “Factors Associated with Nursing Home Infections and Fatalities in New York State During the COVID-19 Global Health Crisis”:
And finally, the initial complaint in the Arbeeny v. Cuomo lawsuit:
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
