NW Kentucky News

WASHINGTON — The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a hearing titled “A Hearing with former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo” to examine the former governor’s role in issuing guidance that required New York nursing homes and long-term care facilities to admit COVID-19 positive patients. Prior to the hearing, the Select Subcommittee released a memo containing evidence from over half-a-million documents and 10 transcribed interviews, revealing Mr. Cuomo's involvement in the March 25 Directive and subsequent efforts to downplay its consequences.

Members of the committee demanded an apology from Mr. Cuomo for the impact of his directive on victims' families. Chairman Wenstrup noted that although Mr. Cuomo was not on trial, he declined to discuss how similar tragedies could be prevented in the future.

The hearing revealed several key points:

1. Mr. Cuomo did not consult with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the science behind his directive.

2. The March 25 Directive was reportedly withdrawn due to "public relations" concerns.

3. Mr. Cuomo's administration excluded out-of-facility deaths in their accounting of nursing home fatalities.

4. An official report drafted by New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) was edited by Mr. Cuomo's team and lacked scientific peer review.

Chairman Brad Wenstrup questioned Mr. Cuomo about his lack of communication with CDC or CMS before implementing the directive:

“My question was, did you ever speak with anyone, you, Governor Cuomo, did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand? You, Governor Cuomo.”

Mr. Cuomo responded: “You asked that question. And I answered the question, and I said, no.”

Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer also pressed Mr. Cuomo about his administration's editing of a NYSDH report:

“On July 6, 2020, the Department of Health issued the report you requested... Was this report peer reviewed?”

Mr. Cuomo replied: “I don’t know.”

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik criticized Mr. Cuomo for negotiating a book deal while seniors were dying in nursing homes:

“My question to you is why were you negotiating for your multimillion dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes?”

Mr. Cuomo retorted: “You can’t make up facts, Congresswoman.”

Representative Nicole Malliotakis addressed inaccuracies in an opinion piece by Mr. Cuomo published ahead of his public hearing:

“You cite CMS data to claim New York had the 12th lowest death rate at end of 2020... Your Administration reported 6000 deaths; true toll was 11,400 — nearly double.”

Rep Mariannette Miller-Meeks questioned why testing was prohibited under Mr.Cuomo’s directive:

“You prohibited nursing homes from requiring testing... How would you know if you prohibited testing?”

The Select Subcommittee announced a subpoena compelling production of documents related to pandemic policies withheld by Governor Kathy Hochul's office.