Andrew Cuomo Slapped With DOJ Probe Over COVID Nursing Home Death Testimony as He Plots Political Comeback
AP
Andrew Cuomo is facing a federal criminal investigation over claims he misled Congress — just as he attempts a political comeback in New York City’s pivotal 2025 mayoral race.
The Department of Justice is examining whether the former New York governor gave false testimony to the House Oversight Committee last year, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The statements under scrutiny originate from discussions surrounding a New York State Department of Health report on nursing home COVID-19 infections and deaths, released on July 6, 2020. But Republicans on the committee have pointed to a June 2020 email that references the “Governor’s edits” to the health report and notes — purportedly handwritten by Cuomo — that appear to conflict with his testimony.
The probe comes at a politically combustible moment. Cuomo, a Democrat who resigned in disgrace in 2021 following a damning sexual harassment report, is now among the frontrunners to replace Mayor Eric Adams.
The investigation into his congressional testimony adds new volatility to a race already shadowed by legal intrigue. Federal corruption charges against Adams were dropped by a judge in April after President Donald Trump’s DOJ moved to have the case dismissed.
Adams later publicly aligned himself with Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Cuomo’s camp swiftly framed the probe as a political hit.
“We have never been informed of any such matter, so why would someone leak it now?” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi told the network. “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.”
Cuomo “testified truthfully to the best of his recollection,” Azzopardi added, dismissing the GOP-led investigation as “transparently political.”
The federal investigation reportedly predates the appointment of former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as interim U.S. attorney for D.C., following the departure of Ed Martin.
