Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently repeatedly claimed he had no memory of seeing the 2020 New York State Department of Health report before it was released, but emails and congressional documents reveal that Cuomo may have been much more privy to the report than he previously acknowledged.
Gov. Cuomo testified at a closed hearing in June and at a public hearing this month as part of an Assembly subcommittee investigation into New York state's coronavirus response, which also cited the deaths in nursing homes linked to COVID-19, which have now surpassed 15,000.
“He should be prosecuted.”
The disgraced governor was questioned multiple times about the Health Department report shifting blame for the deaths, claiming he did not recall reading it before it was released, much less reviewing or editing it.
But a June 23, 2020 email from then-assistant Farrah Kennedy suggests Cuomo was far more involved in the report than he had previously acknowledged. The New York Times Reported.
“The Governor's redactions are attached for your review,” Kennedy's email to Cuomo's senior staff said.
“The small print at the beginning is from your original document. He replaced the paragraph on page 3 of yours that begins, 'However, like all 50 states, there have been positive COVID-19 cases,'” Kennedy's email explained.
Governor Cuomo asked that language be added to the report to highlight that “community spread among staff and visits by family and friends were relevant factors” in the nursing home deaths.
“The large letters were added by him,” Kennedy wrote.
Additionally, the Times uncovered congressional documents suggesting one of Cuomo's aides requested that the report be sent to the former governor's home on June 29, 2020.
“Please print two copies and deliver them to the residence,” it said.
The report was released a week after the aides' request and included some redactions by Cuomo, according to the Times report.
Tracey Alvino, director of Voices for Seniors, whose father died after contracting COVID-19 while living in a New York City nursing home, accused Cuomo of lying to lawmakers. New York Post Reported.
“This is a crime. The emails prove it,” Alvino said. “Of course he should be prosecuted. I'd love to see him in that orange jumpsuit.”
Vivian Zayas, co-founder of Voice for Seniors, whose mother died after contracting COVID-19 in a New York City nursing home, also accused Governor Cuomo of lying.
“He said he had nothing to do with the report,” Zayas said. “If he lied to Congress, he committed a crime. He should definitely be investigated.”
“We're going to see this through to the end. Cuomo needs to be held accountable,” Zayas added.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said, “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. What this MAGA committee has revealed does not overturn what New York has followed.” [then-President Donald] These include President Trump's CDC nursing home policy and the conclusion of a HHS report that COVID was spread by asymptomatic staff in nursing homes.”
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