The fact that Gov. Andrew Cuomo concealed the deaths of nursing homes due to COVID-19 could lead to federal criminal charges, a former deputy attorney general has warned.
In a publication published in the Wall Street Journal, John Daukas, who was the acting Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, chaired by President Trump, insisted that the multi-agency investigation was “serious and perhaps deserved federal criminal charges. “
Daukas said Cuomo’s executive order last March requiring New York City nursing homes to admit hospitalized patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 “caused many more tragic and unnecessary deaths than were reported in the public “.
“And his administration appears to have been involved in a cover-up designed to thwart the federal government’s oversight efforts,” Daukas wrote in the opinion released on Sunday afternoon.
“New York’s seemingly false statements about deaths in nursing homes deceived public health officials across the country at a time when they were trying to develop strategies to combat a deadly pandemic,” he wrote.
Worse, he noted The Post’s report on how Cuomo’s chief aide, Melissa DeRosa, admitted that the true death toll was hidden for fear that prosecutors would “use against us” the figures.
“Madam. The admissions reported by DeRosa indicate that the Cuomo administration’s conduct was not merely negligent, but intentional and perhaps criminal,” Daukas wrote.
“Numerous federal criminal statutes could be enforced,” he warned.
“It is a crime to make false statements to the federal government. It is also a crime to hide information and obstruct government investigations.
“New York may have been involved in a conspiracy to swindle the U.S. and its agencies and possibly obstruct justice, among other crimes,” he stressed.
“Even if it cannot be shown that the Cuomo administration provided false information to Justice and [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]”The intentional failure of New York to provide information may constitute a criminal offense, especially if it is intended to thwart a federal investigation, which, after all, is exactly what Ms. DeRosa said the administration did.” , he wrote.