We're catching up with several stories that came out on 20 July 2022, following replacement NY Governor Kathy Hochul's long delayed announcement of an independent probe of Andrew M. Cuomo's pandemic response policies, including his deadly 25 March 2020 directive.
- Kathy Hochul launches Cuomo probe, findings unlikely until after election
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Hochul's action comes nearly two weeks after several newspaper editorials slammed her for her lack of action in following through her pledge to launch an independent probe of Cuomo's pandemic policies. The following excerpt describes the delay and the scope of the probe:
Gov Kathy Hochul on Wednesday initiated an independent probe of the Cuomo administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic — but even preliminary results aren’t expected until after the November elections.
Critics, including nursing home advocates, have accused Democrat Hochul — who faces off against Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Suffolk) in the governor’s race this November — of slow-walking her promised no-holds barred analysis of the administration’s handling of the deadly COVID-19 outbreak.
The concern is fueled by Hochul having been then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s lieutenant governor during the health crisis — with critics saying that potentially makes her complicit in any findings.
Hochul announced she issued a “request for proposals” to hire a firm to conduct an “After Action Review” that includes looking at the controversial transfer of recovering COVID-19 patients from hospitals into nursing homes and interactions between state, local and federal officials during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020.
“We’re going to be covering the transfer policies related to medical procedures and hospitals. And patient facilities. The transfer of individuals, vulnerable populations into congregate settings, homeless shelters, group homes, nursing homes, jails,” Hochul said.
The excerpt contains the key words that explain why Hochul, who assumed power on 24 August 2021, delayed initiating the probe for so long: "preliminary results aren’t expected until after the November elections". That's a clear sign she expects the results will be damaging to the interests of her political party.
That's because both legislators and dozens of state government officials appointed by Cuomo were involved in the development and implementation of Cuomo's deadly 25 March 2020 directive. Pushing the start of the probe so late would specifically protect the interests of legislators who were involved, who now won't have to face voters over their roles until after the election.
- Hochul announces pandemic after-action review
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This report describes how the independent probe, which is being called an "after-action review", will be set up. Here's an exceprt:
The request for proposal (RFP) — the formal request for applicants — for the "After-Action" review was posted a few hours after the governor spoke at a news conference.
The RFP listed a number of topics germane to the state response to the pandemic, including policies that addressed the spread in "congregate settings" such as hospitals, nursing homes and prisons; procurement of needed equipment and the selection of the private companies that sought to provide it; the interaction between state government and federal as well as local officials; the impact on the education system; protections afforded to essential workers; and more.
Many of those issues proved to be controversial under the leadership of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo — especially his administration's handling of COVID-19 infections in nursing homes. He resigned his office last August.
Hochul emphasized the importance of an independent entity taking on the task, and said she expects initial findings to be completed in six months and estimates a completed review will be ready next year.
There's nothing in how the probe is being set up that would have stopped it from having been established months ago. Hochul's long delay in even taking this action appears purposefully designed to prevent any findings from being reported before the November 2022 elections.
- Outside review planned for New York's COVID-19 response
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This report highlights important aspects of how the probe is being established that will limit its effectiveness. The following excerpt explains:
The governor, who is running for her first full term in November and won the recent June Democratic gubernatorial primary, promised in mid-March to eventually launch a review of the state’s COVID-19 response.
It's unclear what new information this probe could uncover. The auditor will lack subpoena power, for example. That's in contrast to an investigation, overseen by James, into sexual harassment allegations against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a fellow Democrat.
The auditor will also report directly to Hochul’s office.
“In this regard, the flow of information is controlled by the governor’s office, not an independent commission,” elder abuse attorney John Dalli said.
The Democratic-led Legislature has failed to approve a bill to launch a bipartisan commission with subpoena power to probe New York's COVID-19 response in nursing homes.
The lack of subpoena power will allow state government officials to avoid being deposed under oath. That will limit the auditor's ability to compel discovery about the actions of state government officials in contributing to the excess deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of New York's nursing home residents during the period Cuomo's deadly directive was in effect.
We think the bottom line is the probe is more an exercise in damage control than it is about fully getting to the bottom of Andrew M. Cuomo's COVID nursing home deaths scandals.
