The Justice Department has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for allegedly lying to Congress about the nursing home deaths in the Empire State during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The probe into the New York City mayoral frontrunner was launched about a month ago by the Washington, DC, US Attorney’s Office, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The office was led at the time by Ed Martin, who was replaced earlier this month by Jeanine Pirro.
The Republican-led panel asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue criminal charges against Cuomo, a Democrat, for making “criminally false statements” during a June 11, 2024, interview with the House COVID subcommittee.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) charged that there was “overwhelming evidence” that Cuomo presided over a July 6, 2020, audit that undercounted the total number of deaths in New York senior care facilities during the pandemic by 46%.
Comer previously referred Cuomo for prosecution last year, but his request was denied by former President Joe Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The former governor’s spokesperson Rich Azzopardi told The Post that he was unaware of any investigation — slamming the prospect of one as “lawfare and election interference.”
“We have never been informed of any such matter, so why would someone leak it now?” he said in a statement. “The answer is obvious: This is lawfare and election interference plain and simple — something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against.
“Governor Cuomo testified truthfully to the best of his recollection about events from four years earlier, and he offered to address any follow-up questions from the Subcommittee — but from the beginning this was all transparently political,” he added.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
This article was originally published by The New York Post.
Get the Exclusive
05.21.2025