12 February 2021: Cuomo Administration Coverup of COVID Nursing Home Deaths Confirmed as Scandal Blows Up

Melissa DeRosa's admission on nursing home coverup sparks calls for probe — and Cuomo's prosecution

The reaction to the acknowledgment that Governor Cuomo and his administration engaged in a coverup of the full extent of COVID-19 deaths among New York's nursing home residents is starting to come in. This report focuses on the calls for new investigations and potential prosecution:

The stunning admission by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top aide that the administration withheld the state's nursing home death toll out of fear that the damning numbers would "be used against us" by the feds has sparked bipartisan calls for a thorough probe — and prosecution of the governor.

"Governor Cuomo, the Secretary to the Governor, and his senior team must be prosecuted immediately – both by the Attorney General of New York State and the U.S. Department of Justice," US Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) wrote in a statement.

"This bombshell admission of a coverup and the remarks by the Secretary to the Governor indicating intent to obstruct any federal investigation is a stunning and criminal abuse of power," Stefanik continued.

The article continues to report on the reaction of Governor Cuomo's political opponents in the state, which are less restrained than Representative Stefanik's statement. Here's a roundup of additional reactions:

• Disturbing, criminal, corrupt: NY leaders rip Cuomo nursing home disclosures - This article details the highly critical reaction of members of Governor Cuomo's party to the confirmation that his administration engaged in a coverup of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents.
• Cuomo faces calls to resign amid allegations of hiding nursing home Covid deaths - This article describes the bipartisan outrage over Governor Cuomo's coverup, in which some have begun calling for his "resignation, impeachment, or removal from office".
• Gov. Cuomo ducks reporters after Biden WH meeting amid nursing home scandal - This article reveals Governor Cuomo's initial response to the exposure of his coverup scandal suggests he's hoping to wait out hard questions from the media.
• Report Of Possible Cover Up On New York Nursing Home Deaths Spurs Calls For Probes Of Cuomo, Aides - This report reveals the calls for investigations into the coverup will extend to other officials in the Cuomo administration.
• Some New York Democrats Break With Cuomo as 14 State Senators Call to Strip Him of Emergency Powers - This article reveals that members of Governor Cuomo's political party will seek to remove the emergency powers he was granted during the coronavirus pandemic as part of the response to the nursing home death coverup scandal.
• Sec. to Governor Cuomo releases statement, transcription of call following nursing home deaths report - This report details Melissa DeRosa's attempt to perform damage control following her bombshell admission.

Cuomo lied and covered it up — we need a federal investigation to find the truth

The New York Post has owned the story of Governor Cuomo's disastrous nursing home directive and now his coverup of its extent from almost the beginning. In this editorial, they note several problems that only a federal investigation can address at this point:

A federal investigation may be the only way to get the full truth of Team Cuomo's order to nursing homes, populated by those most vulnerable to the virus, to take in COVID-positive patients. Not just the "what" of how many lives it cost, but the "why" behind this madness, and the months and months of coverup.

Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, made the stunning statement on a video call with Democratic state lawmakers as she "explained" why the administration ignored since August their demands for nursing-home death data. It began when then-President Donald Trump "directs the Department of Justice to do an investigation into us," she said. "And basically we froze."

"Because then we were in a position where we weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us while we weren't sure if there was going to be an investigation," she said.

Suppressing evidence for fear of federal prosecution — what did the administration have to hide?

Another problem: The state started hiding the info months earlier, long before Trump tweeted a thing.

Later in the call, she said the Biden Justice Department isn't as interested in Team Cuomo's malfeasance. "All signs point to they are not looking at this, they've dropped it," she said.

The Post's editors point to that last statement and the close association between Governor Cuomo and President Biden in calling for a special counsel to conduct a federal investigation. Even now, the Cuomo administration still fails to provide sufficient transparency into the COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents. Without that information, it is not possible to assess his administration's claims regarding the impact of his 25 March 2020 directive that forced nursing homes to blindly admit coronavirus-infected patients without testing to determine if they were still contagious.