Former governor and mayoral candidate, Andrew Cuomo, (C) marches in the Celebrate Israel Parade up Fifth Avenue on May 18, 2025 in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
"We have never been informed of any such matter, so why would someone leak it now? 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," Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo’s spokesperson told Fox News. "Governor Cuomo testified truthfully to the best of his recollection about events from four years earlier, and he offered to address any follow-up questions from the Subcommittee — but from the beginning this was all transparently political."
The former governor was grilled by Republican lawmakers last year about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. House Republicans subsequently recommended the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against him. They accused him of intentionally lying to Congress during the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the excessive number of nursing home deaths.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., referred Cuomo to President Donald Trump's Justice Department for criminal prosecution.
BILL MAHER SUGGESTS ANDREW CUOMO'S NURSING HOME SCANDAL MAY COST HIS NYC MAYORAL CAMPAIGN
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo arrives to testify before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in the Rayburn House Office Building at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 10, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura)
The eight plaintiffs in the case argued that their loved ones contracted COVID-19 in nursing homes and died as a result of the directive. They accused Cuomo and his administration of being civilly liable for their deaths as well as being liable for failing to accurately report the number of nursing home deaths in New York state that resulted from the virus.
Cuomo has previously said that the directive was based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance at the time.
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A report released in March 2022 by the New York state comptroller found Cuomo's Health Department "was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes" and it "understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%" during some points of the pandemic.
In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi last month, Comer said "to our knowledge, the Biden Administration ignored this referral despite clear facts and evidence." He requested that Bondi review the referral and "take appropriate action."
"Andrew Cuomo is a man with a history of corruption and deceit, now caught red-handed lying to Congress during the Select Subcommittee’s investigation into the COVID-19 nursing home tragedy in New York," Comer said in a statement Monday. "This wasn’t a slip-up – it was a calculated cover-up by a man seeking to shield himself from responsibility for the devastating loss of life in New York’s nursing homes. Let’s be clear: lying to Congress is a federal crime. Mr. Cuomo must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The House Oversight Committee is prepared to fully cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation into Andrew Cuomo’s actions and ensure he’s held to account."
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-investigating-andrew-cuomo-allegedly-lying-about-covid-decisions