WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is testifying before Congress about his administration’s handling of COVID in nursing homes.
Cuomo previously testified in a private hearing back on June 11.
Watch it streaming live on CBS News New York in the video player above.
Bombshell report blasts Cuomo’s alleged coverup
Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, the House subcommittee released a bombshell report, accusing Cuomo of making false statements to cover up the number of deaths.
As 15,000 seniors died from COVID in New York nursing homes in 2020, there was mounting criticism of a March 25 directive that was issued by his administration. It ordered, in part, “no resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID 19.”
The 48-page report says Cuomo told a reporter on March 10, 2020, that coronavirus in nursing homes was a “nightmare” scenario, and told former President Donald Trump’s administration, “This could be like fire through dry grass.” Yet, he still issued the deadly directive statewide.
The former governor and his staff used alternating methodologies throughout the pandemic to account for nursing home fatalities,” the report says.
It also cites testimony from ex-Cuomo policy advisor Jim Malatras, who said Cuomo and Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa would edit reports.
A Cuomo spokesperson responded, in part, “What the report does confirm…is that out-of-facility nursing home tabulations were initially withheld due to legitimate concerns over accuracy…The report also, for the first time, admits that it was the federal government — not state governments — that first decided COVID-positive people can and should be sent from hospitals to nursing homes.
The spokesperson added the report is designed to distract from Trump’s “failed pandemic leadership.”
Meanwhile, the lawmakers say the state of New York is still withholding documents that are vital to their investigation and could shape future legislation to make sure a tragedy like this never happens again.
