Washington, D.C. – Today, Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) announced a subpoena to compel former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to appear for a deposition on May 24, 2024. On March 25, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued a mandate that forced New York nursing homes and long-term care facilities to admit or re-admit potentially contagious and untested COVID-19 patients. This order recklessly exposed New York’s most vulnerable population to COVID-19 with deadly consequences. During the Cuomo Administration, it was reported that more than 15,000 individuals died in New York nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Evidence also suggests that former Governor Cuomo engaged in a coverup to hide the true New York nursing home mortality rate from the public and shift political blame away from his administration. The Select Subcommittee has worked in good faith to schedule a voluntary transcribed interview with former Governor Cuomo to discuss his COVID-19 nursing home policies. Former Governor Cuomo has repeatedly and unjustifiably delayed the Select Subcommittee’s investigation by not responding to requests for weeks, ignoring Select Subcommittee staff’s attempts to negotiate interview dates and times, and providing unreasonable availability — nine months after the interview was originally requested. Today’s subpoena has sadly become necessary to uncover the truth about New York’s pandemic-era nursing home policies and deliver the answers Americans demand and New Yorkers deserve. “Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo implemented nursing home policies that had deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable population. Not only did the former Governor put the elderly in harm’s way, but he also attempted to cover-up his failures by hiding the true nursing home death rate. It appears that politics, not medicine, was responsible for these decisions. And that while Mr. Cuomo is adept at seeking legal advice, he is not necessarily adept at seeking medical advice. Former Governor Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. His testimony is crucial to uncover the circumstances that led to his misguided policies and for ensuring that fatal mistakes never happen again. It is well past time for Cuomo to stop dodging accountability to Congress and start answering honestly to the American people,” said Chairman Wenstrup. Read the Select Subcommittee’s cover letter to former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo here and subpoena here |
