6 March 2024: Cuomo Subpoenaed by Congress to Testify Under Oath on COVID Nursing Home Deaths

House COVID panel subpoenas former NY Gov. Cuomo over nursing home deaths

It's been a long time coming, but Andrew M. Cuomo has finally been subpoenaed by a committee of the U.S. Congress to testify under oath about his deadly 25 March 2020 directive forcing New York state nursing homes to admit patients known to have COVID infections to free up bed space at hospitals.

Here's an excerpt from The Hill's Nathaniel Weixel's report:

The House committee investigating the coronavirus pandemic response issued a subpoena Tuesday for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) over his alleged failure to cooperate with a probe into the state’s COVID-19 nursing home policies.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is demanding Cuomo appear for a closed-door deposition on May 24. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), the subcommittee’s chairman, has previously requested interviews with former Cuomo administration officials, including former top aide Melissa DeRosa.

Unlike other probes, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is focusing on Cuomo's deadly directive and its fatal consequences:

Specifically, the panel is looking into Cuomo’s “must admit” order, which said nursing homes could not turn away patients who tested positive for COVID-19, as long as they were medically stable.

The facilities were also prohibited from requiring hospitalized residents to be tested for the virus before their admission or readmission in nursing homes.

The move was made early in the pandemic and was meant to help relieve overburdened hospitals, which were sending patients elsewhere to help free up capacity.

The move to issue the subpoena comes after months of stonewalling requests for information from the committee by Cuomo and his legal team. The article indicates Cuomo's lawyers are attempting to delay Cuomo's testimony until August.