Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo privately falsified a state study that undercounted COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by more than 50%, according to emails detailed in a new report.
First reported by The New York Times, the emails and legislative documents support claims that Cuomo made during grilling in the legislature over the summer, saying he had never seen or remembered seeing the state health department’s report.
“The Governor’s redactions are attached for your review,” a Cuomo assistant wrote to the governor’s senior staff in June 2020, according to the Times.
Cuomo was not under oath during his closed-door testimony this year, but records show he was told he could face criminal prosecution if he knowingly made a false statement.
The former governor’s controversial actions early in the pandemic in 2020, particularly his order to send elderly people with COVID-19 to nursing homes, have been blamed for possibly causing as many as 9,000 excess deaths.
Cuomo later acknowledged that he had instructed his aides to write an email calling the March directive a “huge blunder.”
His role in a July 2020 state Department of Health report that found the number of nursing home deaths had been undercounted has been described by a U.S. House committee as nothing less than a “cover-up.”
The House Select Subcommittee on COVID-19 alleged that Cuomo’s office “edited” the report, but emails obtained by The New York Times suggest his role was more hands-on.
According to the Times report, Trump inserted a line of his own, blaming employees and people who visited family and friends in nursing homes for spreading the coronavirus and causing deaths.
During a closed-door questioning session with House lawmakers in June, Governor Cuomo claimed he had not reviewed the draft nursing home death report before releasing it.
He said he did not recall reviewing, editing or discussing the report before its release on July 7, 2020, according to the minutes.
And none of the emails detailed in the Times report were actually written by Governor Cuomo, who reportedly does not use email.
During a congressional hearing on September 10, Cuomo repeatedly tried to shift the blame, prompting Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) to call him a “lying asshole.”
Vivian Zayas, co-founder of Voices for Seniors, whose mother, Ana Martinez, died after contracting COVID-19 in a Long Island nursing home, also attended the House hearing.
She said Cuomo “totally lied.”
“He said he had nothing to do with the report,” she said.
“If he lied to Congress, he committed a crime. He should certainly be investigated.”
“We’re going to see this through to the end. Cuomo needs to be held accountable.”
Governor Cuomo’s spokesman, Rich Azzopardi, responded to an email reported by The New York Times alleging that staff members spread the coronavirus in nursing homes.
“Governor Cuomo cooperated fully with the committee over two days, sharing everything he remembers about the events four years ago in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic. Nothing this MAGA committee has revealed changes New York’s compliance with (then-President Donald) Trump’s CDC nursing home policies or the conclusions of the Department of Health report that COVID was spread by asymptomatic staff in nursing homes,” Azzopardi said in a statement.
Supporters of Governor Cuomo, who resigned in disgrace in August 2021 following numerous allegations of sexual misconduct, have recently been “spreading rumors” that he is running for New York City mayor amid the unfolding scandal surrounding Eric Adams.
