Disgraced ex-NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered to appear before House panel over controversial handling of COVID in nursing homes

Disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been ordered to appear before a Congressional panel over his administration’s controversial handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York nursing homes.

Cuomo was issued a subpoena Tuesday by the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. His deposition is scheduled for May, and will likely take place behind closed doors.

“After misleading the public and filtering the truth from the American people regarding how many COVID-19 deaths occurred in nursing homes, Andrew Cuomo has been dodging our committee, delaying our investigation and refusing to take accountability,” New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island), one of the panel’s members, said in a statement to The Post.

“His misguided policies led to the deaths of more than 15,000 New Yorkers,” Malliotakis charged. “His testimony is crucial to helping us prevent a tragedy like this from occurring ever again.” 

The three-term Democrat resigned in 2021 while facing an onslaught of scandals, including the alleged cover-up of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes.

The ex-gov denies that his administration’s March 2020 policy requiring nursing homes to accept COVID-19-positive patients led to additional deaths.

Reports from the New York Bar Association and Empire Center for Public Policy have concluded that Cuomo’s order lead to hundreds of additional deaths.

“He owes those families answers as to why the State went against CDC guidance to place their loved ones in direct contact with COVID-positive patients,” Malliotakis said.

A spokesperson for the former governor slammed Congressional Republicans Tuesday, accusing them of playing politics with the pandemic.

“Congress is officially a circus and they are nothing but clowns,” Cuomo rep Rich Azzopardi said in a statement.

Cuomo agreed to cooperate with the House Republicans’ investigation, including voluntarily sitting for an interview, Azzopardi said.

“This is on them, not us. The Governor’s counsel two weeks ago provided dates for an interview and even offered to have any questions answered in writing prior to it,” Azzopardi wrote.

Cuomo is also facing a federal class-action lawsuit from families of COVID-19 victims who allege the former governor violated civil rights protections and caused them pain and suffering.

The state is currently waiting on a report from a third-party firm into the handling of the pandemic that had been due in January. Gov. Kathy Hochul has expressed frustration over the delay in the release of the findings.

Over 80,000 New Yorkers died of COVID-19 from the beginning of the pandemic to May 2023, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.