The surprising admission by the Cuomo government’s top aide, that the administration withheld the death toll from the state’s nursing home for fear that the feds would “use against us” the conviction figures sparked a petition bipartisan of a thorough investigation – and the persecution of the governor.
“Governor Cuomo, the governor’s secretary and his senior team must be prosecuted immediately, both by the New York State Attorney General and by the U.S. Department of Justice,” Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik wrote in a communiqué.
“This bombarded admission of a cover-up and the secretary’s statements to the governor indicating an intention to obstruct any federal investigation are an impressive and criminal abuse of power,” Stefanik continued.
“I’ve said from the beginning that this is more than a residency scandal, it’s a massive corruption and cover-up scandal at the highest level of New York state government involving the governor, the governor’s secretary, the commissioner of health of New York State and the governor’s staff, ”he wrote.
“Families who lost their loved ones, New Yorkers and all Americans deserve accountability from the U.S. Department of Justice, which will be independent and unaffected by Governor Cuomo’s desperate political pressure.”
New York Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt Republican he said in a tweet: “Governor Cuomo and his administration must be investigated from top to bottom and emergency powers must be withdrawn. Justice must be brought to families in distress who have been ignored to protect Governor Cuomo and his allies Democrats in the legislature. “
In a separate statement, he said: “Today’s news that Governor Cuomo’s top aide admitted that he deliberately withheld information about deaths from COVID-19 is the latest in a series of disruptive acts of corruption by the its administration.
“It is clear that this is a serious obstruction of justice. Instead of apologizing or giving answers to the thousands of New York families who lost their loved ones, the governor’s administration apologized behind closed doors to politicians for the “political inconvenience” this scandal has caused them.
The comments come after The Post revealed that Gov. Melissa DeRosa’s secretary said during a video conference with Democratic state leaders that the administration had rejected a legislative request for the count in August because “almost at the same time [then-President Donald Trump] it turns it into a giant political football, “according to an audio recording obtained by The Post.
“He starts tweeting that we killed everyone in the residences,” DeRosa said. “It simply came to our notice then [New Jersey Gov. Phil] Murphy, start going after [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom, start going after [Michigan Gov.] Gretchen Whitmer “.
In addition to attacking Cuomo’s fellow Democrats, Trump said, he “directs the Justice Department to do an investigation on us.”
“And we basically froze,” DeRosa told lawmakers.
“Because then we were in a position where we weren’t sure if what we would give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you, what we start saying, would be used against us while we weren’t. I’m not sure if there will be an investigation “, he added.
State Attorney Letitia James recently announced in a 76-page report that the death toll at the Empire State residence for COVID-19 may be more than 50% higher than the officials because the Cuomo administration had not revealed how many of those residents died in hospitals.
The bomb discoveries could raise the DOH figure from 8,711 deaths to more than 13,000, according to a survey of 62 nursing homes that found the state highlighted fatalities there at 56 percent on average.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) Said Cuomo “has blood on his hands.”
“Cuomo’s coverage caused the unnecessary deaths of New Yorkers who everyone knew were at risk. And Fredo and CNN helped him hide it all by laughing at it! ” Greene said in a tweet, using former President Trump’s reference to CNN’s Chris Cuomo anchor based on Fredo Corleone, the ineffective son of “The Godfather.”
Housewife minority whip Steve Scalise also reacted on Twitter, write: “Here it is. Cuomo’s assistant just admitted that he covered up the data on nursing homes so that federal prosecutors couldn’t find them. Time for federal investigations. Time for prosecution. Time for JUSTICE.”
He added: “The more the truth comes out, the worse it gets for Cuomo.”
Democrats, including Attorney General Jumaane Williams, also stormed the governor, piulant: “For @NYGovCuomo’s continuing advocates, how’s it going?
“And when you FORCE to enter, the maximum you will get is a pity that we have been caught … not even directly from him or from the families. All the while asking Americans to trust your decisions, ”he added.
State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-NY) also spoke, saying in a tweet: “You’re just sorry everyone caught you. Because of your decisions, thousands of people died who did not have to die. Melissa, we don’t feel “offended,” but we’re furious, with very good reason. “
State Sen. Andrew Gornardes (D-NY) called it a “betrayal of public confidence.”
“There must be full accountability for what happened and the legislature must reconsider its broad granting of emergency powers to the governor,” he said in a tweet.
In a prepared statement, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said: “We explained that the Trump administration was in the midst of a politically motivated effort to blame democratic states for the deaths by COVID and that we were cooperating with federal document productions. and that was the priority and now that it’s over, we can go to the state legislature. “
“That said, we were working simultaneously to complete the audit of the information they were requesting,” he added.
The DOJ declined to comment.