16 March 2021: President Biden Says Cuomo Should Resign If Sexual Harassment Allegations Are Proven, Still Seems Okay with COVID Nursing Home Deaths

Biden: Cuomo should resign if investigation confirms claims

The Associated Press reports on President Biden's soon-to-air interview with ABC News:

The pressure against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over sexual harassment allegations reached the White House on Tuesday, with President Joe Biden saying Cuomo should resign if the state attorney general’s investigation confirms the claims against him.

Biden made the remarks in an interview with ABC News that is scheduled to air Wednesday. When asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos whether Cuomo should resign if the investigation confirms the women’s claims, Biden said “yes” and added, “I think he’d probably end up being prosecuted, too.”

President Biden has long been politically allied with Governor Cuomo, where his previous silence has been interpreted as Governor Cuomo continuing to have his unconditional support. By deferring the results of an investigation yet to be conducted, that support is still there, but it's now conditioned on the outcome of the New York state legislature's impeachment investigation.

President Biden knows those kinds of allegations can be difficult for accusers to prove. As the Associated Press reports, he has previously had serious sexual harassment allegations levied against him, and has also faced long running complaints of unwanted touching and other peculiar behaviors.

Biden himself faced a sexual assault allegation by a former member of his staff, Tara Reade, who said he groped and kissed her in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building in 1993. Biden has denied her claims, and multiple current and former Biden staffers have said they have no recollection of such an encounter.

Biden also faced criticism for not respecting personal space as he geared up to run for president, prompting him to release a video in which he promised to be "much more mindful."

The excerpted ABC News interview doesn't give any indication of whether President Biden is okay with Governor Cuomo's multiple COVID nursing home deaths scandals. We'll have to wait for ABC News' interview to air to see if he's still okay with them.

11 August 2021: Biden Says Cuomo Did "Hell of a Job"

Biden says apart from personal behavior, Cuomo did a "hell of a job" as governor

President Joe Biden reacted to Andrew M. Cuomo's announced resignation in disgrace by saying he did a "hell of a job". Here's a portion of the transcript from the President's 10 August 2021 press briefing, when he was asked about the resignation by CBS' Ed O'Keefe.

O'KEEFE: "One of the Democrats through the years that you spoke with about infrastructure the most was Andrew Cuomo, who is resigning, who announced he's resigning today. You had traveled New York with him when you were vice president to the launch of the reconstruction of LaGuardia. He was someone who supported your campaign early on. I know you called on him to resign. I know you condemned the alleged behavior. But you're someone who spends a lot of time with mayors and governors. How would you assess his ten-and-a-half years as governor of the state?"

BIDEN: "In terms of his personal behavior or what he's done as a governor?"

O'KEEFE: "What he's done as a governor."

BIDEN: "I thought he's done a hell of a job. I thought he's done a hell of a job. And uh, I mean both on everything from access to voting to infrastructure to a whole range of things. That's why it's so sad."

That striking comment was quickly followed up by CNN's Kaitlin Collins and O'Keefe:

COLLINS: "Can I quickly follow up on your comment on Governor Cuomo? Can you really say that he has done a, quote, 'hell of a job' if he's accused of sexual harassing women, on the job?"

BIDEN: "Look, you're asking two different questions. The substantive, should he remain as governor is one question. And women should be believed when they make accusations that are able to on the face of them make sense, they're investigated, and the judgement was made that what they said was correct. That's one thing. The question is, did he do a good job on infrastructure? That was the question. He did."

COLLINS: "The question was how did he do as a governor?"

BIDEN: "No, the question was -- correct me if I'm wrong --"

O'KEEFE: "How was he as a governor generally?"

BIDEN: "Well as a governor generally—"

O'KEEFE: "Outside of his personal behavior, outside of his personal behavior."

BIDEN: "Outside of his personal behavior? Okay."

COLLINS: "But can you separate the two?"

BIDEN: "No, I'm not. I was asked a specific question. I'm trying to answer specifically. What do you want to ask me specifically?"

The Biden DOJ dropped its investigation of excess COVID deaths in New York's state-operated nursing homes on 23 July 2021. President Biden has long signalled he is okay with Cuomo's excess COVID nursing home deaths resulting from his administration's deadly 25 March 2020 directive and their cover-up.

21 February 2021: President Biden Still Seems Okay with Cuomo COVID Nursing Home Deaths

Psaki sidesteps questions on Cuomo's leadership during pandemic

This article demonstrates the difficulty the Biden-Harris administration is having in honestly addressing Governor Cuomo's scandals.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki avoided answering questions on Sunday on whether President Biden still believes New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) represents the "gold standard" when it comes to leadership during the coronavirus pandemic.

On ABC's "This Week," host Jonathan Karl played a tape from last April of Biden saying Cuomo was "sort of the gold standard" as New York battled with skyrocketing cases in the early months of the pandemic, adding that the governor "has done one hell of a job." Cuomo's office's handling of coronavirus outbreaks in the state's nursing homes is now the subject of a federal investigation by the FBI and the U.S attorney in Brooklyn, who is probing unidentified members of Cuomo's administration.

When asked if Biden still believes Cuomo represents the "gold standard," Psaki insisted that Biden would continue to work with Cuomo, as he would with all governors....

When Karl pressed again whether Biden still believes Cuomo is the gold standard on leadership during the pandemic, asking her to answer "just a yes or no," Psaki said, "It doesn't always have to be a yes or no answer, Jon."

Psaki's less-than-forthright responses suggest, at a minimum, that she is less than capable of communicating the Biden-Harris administration's position regarding Governor Cuomo's nursing home fatality-related scandals. At worse, her comments suggest the Biden-Harris administration may be tolerant of them.

14 April 2021: Creepy Admiration of Governor Cuomo

Biden reportedly once praised Gov. Cuomo’s ‘enormous balls’

We featured the profile of Governor Cuomo that cited then-Vice President Joe Biden's comments, but purposefully chose to omit this portion of it in our earlier commentary to focus on more serious matters.

President Biden once spoke admiringly about Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “absolutely enormous balls” — and illustrated his remarks with an indecent gesture, according to a report Tuesday.

The incident, which reportedly took place before an official event in Rochester in 2015, was recounted to the New York Times Magazine by a Cuomo aide who spoke at the time with Biden, then the nation’s vice president.

“Can I tell you my favorite thing about the governor?” Biden reportedly said.

“He’s got tremendous balls. Absolutely enormous balls.”

Biden also reportedly cupped his hands as if he were holding a pair of melons, the magazine said.

Joe Biden's personal impression of Governor Cuomo, ladies and gentlemen. It sadly says more about what Joe Biden values and what the author of that piece finds relevant than anything meaningful at all about Andrew Cuomo or his many, many scandals.

3 August 2021: Biden No Longer Able to Delay Reacting to Cuomo Scandals

White House calls Cuomo findings abhorrent, says Biden will address later

President Joe Biden, longtime political ally of Andrew M. Cuomo, may soon be forced to call for Cuomo's resignation as New York governor.

The White House on Tuesday called findings that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women “abhorrent” and said President Joe Biden would address the issue later in the day.

New York’s Attorney General Letitia James unveiled the results of an investigation earlier on Tuesday that showed Cuomo engaged in unwanted groping, kissing and hugging and made inappropriate comments to multiple women.

“I don’t know that anyone could have watched this morning and not found the allegations to be abhorrent. I know I certainly did,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

Biden has previously said Cuomo should resign if the allegations were shown by an investigation to be true.

Biden has demonstrated a remarkably strong tolerance for hundreds of excess COVID deaths in New York nursing homes and an equally strong desire to look the other way at Cuomo's other scandals.

Update: Here's President Biden's initial reaction, when asked earlier today, before White House staff has crafted a prepared statement for him to read:

Biden just SNAPPED at a reporter for asking a question about Cuomo: "Be quiet." pic.twitter.com/JYIWygEOHl

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) August 3, 2021

The White House damage control team has their work cut out for them.

4 August 2023: NY Representative Calls for Removal of Cuomo COVID Health Director Howard Zucker

Stefanik urges CDC to fire former Cuomo official who oversaw COVID-19 nursing home scandal

Howard Zucker served as Andrew M. Cuomo's Health Director during the COVID pandemic. As such, he played an instrumental part in both the implementation of Cuomo's deadly 25 March 2020 directive and the Cuomo administration's attempted cover-up of the extent of COVID deaths that resulted from it.

Believe it or not, the Biden administration approved the hiring of the ethically-compromised Zucker by the Centers for Disease Control, which prompted Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to demand is removal from employment at the CDC. Here's an excerpt from the Washington Examiner's Misty Severi's report:

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday to fire a former New York State health commissioner who oversaw the state's deadly COVID-19 nursing home policy.

Howard Zucker, who currently works as the CDC's deputy director for global health, previously worked as the state health commissioner for former New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the pandemic, but he was forced to resign amid accusations that the administration lied about how many seniors died in nursing homes from COVID-19.

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday to fire a former New York State health commissioner who oversaw the state's deadly COVID-19 nursing home policy.

Howard Zucker, who currently works as the CDC's deputy director for global health, previously worked as the state health commissioner for former New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the pandemic, but he was forced to resign amid accusations that the administration lied about how many seniors died in nursing homes from COVID-19....

Zucker began his post at the CDC in January 2023, approximately a year and a half after his resignation in New York. During the height of the pandemic, Zucker implemented a policy that saw seniors in nursing homes across the state return to those homes after being hospitalized and treated for COVID-19.

President Biden has sought to place a number of individuals who were participants in large state-level scandals into positions of authority within his administration. Given that is a recurring behavior on the part of President Biden, he is sending a clear signal he doesn't care about their victims.

Stefanik isn't the only member of the House of Representatives to cry foul:

"Howard Zucker’s reckless, cruel, and inhumane decision-making during the pandemic caused the death of thousands of New Yorkers in nursing homes," Rep. Nick Lalota (R-NY) said. "Zucker should be in a courtroom answering for his actions, not employed by the CDC where he can cause more harm. President Biden should give an ounce of justice to New York families and protect all Americans and fire him immediately."

Under President Biden, the Department of Justice has become routinely mired in a series of scandals in which prosecutors have worked to diminish criminal charges against close affiliates of President Biden or individuals who are politically aligned with the administration. Unless those practices change, we think the DOJ will not be able to be counted upon to obtain justice for the victims of Biden's political friends.

This entry was added to the timeline on 8 October 2023.

13 February 2021: Coverup Scandal Consumes Team Cuomo; President Biden Seems Okay With NY Nursing Home Deaths

Coverup claims engulf Cuomo as scandal over nursing home deaths grows

This article presents a good overview of the reactions to Governor Cuomo's coverup:

The administration's handling of nursing homes is now a full-blown scandal — a stunning reversal for Cuomo, whose early handling of the pandemic and high-profile daily press briefings earned him soaring approval ratings, an Emmy and a book deal.

Now, many fellow Democrats want to write an epilogue.

As Cuomo headed to Washington Friday to meet with President Joe Biden on pandemic response, at least 14 Democrats from the left flank of the state Legislature called for a repeal of the governor's emergency powers — enacted nearly 11 months ago — that have given him nearly unilateral authority during the pandemic. And momentum appears to be growing in the Legislature to exert more oversight.

"It is clear that the expanded emergency powers granted to the Governor are no longer appropriate," lawmakers said in a statement issued Friday morning.

Cuomo was already facing mounting backlash for his handling of the nursing home crisis. The Wednesday call with DeRosa was designed to repair relationships with frustrated Democrats who said Cuomo was shutting them out of the state's response.

It didn't quite go as planned. The article also indicates that President Biden's administration is so-far tolerant of Governor Cuomo's scandal, although it is holding short of endorsing Governor Cuomo.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked during a Friday briefing if Biden, who has touted the importance of transparency for the nation's recovery, felt confident in Cuomo's administration in light of the recent report.

"The president hosted Gov. Cuomo and a bipartisan group of governors and mayors to the White House today to get their perspective from the front lines, not to give anyone a stamp of approval or to seek their stamp of approval," she said.

If President Biden were genuinely interested in promoting unity, initiating federal investigations into the Cuomo administration's policies and practices involving nursing homes in the state would be a good place to start.

19 March 2021: FBI Is Investigating If Team Cuomo Falsely Reported Cuomo Nursing Home Deaths

F.B.I. Investigating Whether Cuomo Aides Gave False Data on Nursing Homes

The New York Times does it again with not exactly groundbreaking news. As in more than a month old news:

A federal investigation into Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s handling of nursing homes during the pandemic has focused in recent weeks on whether the governor and his senior aides provided false data on resident deaths to the Justice Department, according to four people with knowledge of the investigation.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation have contacted lawyers for Mr. Cuomo’s aides, interviewed senior officials from the state Health Department and subpoenaed Mr. Cuomo’s office for documents related to the disclosure of data last year, the people said.

The interviews have included questions about information New York State submitted last year to the Justice Department, which had asked the state for data on Covid-19 cases and deaths in nursing homes, according to the people. False statements in such a submission could constitute a crime.

Considering the Biden-Harris Department of Justice wasn't investigating Governor Cuomo's COVID nursing home deaths scandal until after Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa acknowledged the Cuomo administration had falsely reported and withheld data on the full extent of COVID nursing home deaths in New York's nursing homes, which is what forced them to begin their investigation in the first place, it's nice to have the New York Times confirm the FBI is indeed investigating the matter that forced them to start their investigation.

For background, here's where the Biden-Harris DOJ investigation appears in the timeline:

• 11 February 2021: Team Cuomo Claims They Hid Data to Avoid Trump DOJ
• 13 February 2021: U.S. DOJ May Not Be Able to Conduct Impartial Investigation
• 17 February 2021: FBI, Biden DOJ Starting Investigation of Cuomo Coverup
• 18 February 2021: Biden DOJ Wasn't Investigating Cuomo Until DeRosa Admission
• 19 February 2021: Biden DOJ Now Wants COVID Nursing Home Deaths Data
• 22 February 2021: What Federal Crimes May Team Cuomo Have Committed?

23 July 2021: Biden DOJ Halts Civil Rights Probe of New York COVID Nursing Homes Deaths

DOJ declines to investigate New York's public nursing facilities

As expected, the Biden-Harris administration's Department of Justice dropped its civil rights probe into excess COVID nursing home deaths in New York. At this writing, only the status of the DOJ's probe of New Jersey's COVID nursing home deaths remains uncertain, but given the free pass now being issued to New York's Cuomo administration, the announcement that case will be dropped should soon follow.

This report confirms the Cuomo administration remains under investigation for violations of other federal statutes with respect to its COVID nursing homes scandals.

Republicans expressed outrage on Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice will not open an investigation into the policies by New York and several other states that spurred nursing homes to take in residents who were being discharged from hospitals but still testing positive for COVID-19.

But the decision by the Justice Department's civil division does not signal an end to an ongoing criminal investigation of Gov, Andrew M. Cuomo's administration by the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, which is also examining the state's nursing home policies and the number of fatalities in those facilities that had been reported by state officials.

In a letter on Friday to U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, the House's ranking Republican member on the Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, an attorney with the Justice Department's Legislative Affairs Office said they had declined to open an investigation under Civil Rights statutes related to any public nursing facilities in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey.

There are, however, only a handful of publicly run nursing homes in New York — a fact that was pointed out when DOJ officials initially sent a letter to New York officials last summer seeking data and information specific to those facilities.

This report also indicates a high likelihood that the Biden administration's DOJ bent over backward to look the other way at excess COVID deaths in states that adopted similar COVID patient admission policies as the Cuomo administration's deadly 25 March 2020 directive:

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, issued a statement Friday afternoon calling the civil unit's decision a "gross miscarriage of justice" and noting the New York delegation's request for a broader investigation had been rejected.

“This decision from President Biden’s Department of Justice makes President Biden complicit in the criminal corruption scandal and cover up of deaths of thousands of vulnerable seniors," Stefanik said. “New Yorkers deserve answers and accountability. I was the first member of Congress to call for an investigation into Gov. Cuomo’s corrupt criminal cover-up and I will continue to fight for the families who lost loved ones because of the cruelty and corruption of our governor.

The report continues to observe the Cuomo administration has used the excuse of the federal investigation to deny providing state government data and documents to media outlets seeking to compel the state to provide them under New York's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

In April, Cuomo's office, citing ongoing investigations, rejected a request by the Times Union to make public its correspondence with the Justice Department related to the administration's handling of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities during the coronavirus pandemic.

The correspondence sought by the Times Union was triggered, in part, by an Aug. 26, 2020, letter to Cuomo from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division that sought a trove of records from the administration regarding the relatively small number of public nursing homes in New York, including "all state-issued guidance, directives, advisories, or executive orders regarding admission of persons to public nursing homes ... as well as the dates each such document was in effect."

The Cuomo administration will likely continue using the excuse of the ongoing federal investigations being conducted by the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn to avoid complying with the media's FOIA requests to release public information on the correspondence between state government officials and federal government officials.

3 August 2021: Biden Caves, Calls for Cuomo to Resign

Biden calls on Cuomo to resign after sexual harassment allegations

President Joe Biden drug his heels for as long as he could, but has caved and has called for Andrew M. Cuomo to resign as New York Governor.

An investigation found that Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed nearly a dozen women in and out of state government and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers, New York’s attorney general announced Tuesday, hastening calls for the Democrat’s resignation or impeachment.

President Joe Biden was among those who said Cuomo should resign, a high-profile condemnation from a onetime close ally.

“I think he should resign,” he told reporters Tuesday.

How much influence does President Biden really have with Andrew M. Cuomo? Or rather, how strong of a President is he?

2 February 2022: Editorial - Andrew M. Cuomo Still a Huge Creep

Driven out of office — rightly: Andrew Cuomo is still a huge creep and worse

The New York Post's editors have followed up the story of the last DA to decline pursuing criminal charges against Andrew M. Cuomo related to allegations raised by multiple women who claim he sexually harassed them with this editorial. The following excerpt presenting the full, short editorial gets to the core of why Cuomo should be considered worse than a huge creep:

With the dropping of all criminal cases against ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo based on the sexual-harassment charges outlined in Attorney General Tish James’ landmark report, the Cuomo camp is trying to claim vindication, pretending he was railroaded out of office.

Nonsense: Andrew got off easy.

For starts, as Oswego DA Gregory Oakes told The Post after dropping the last investigation, his decision was no “exoneration.” The lack of a “sufficient legal basis” to bring charges is simply that: Prosecutors face a high burden of proof.

We’d add that the sheer volume of women who bravely stepped forward to accuse the then-gov is itself damning, and the Legislature clearly agreed because it was going to impeach him until he quit to avoid that disgrace.

Nor was the sex stuff the only reason to force him out. There was his deadly March 25, 2020, nursing-home directive, and the prolonged coverup of the associated death toll.

As well as the scandal of Cuomo’s $5.1 million book deal, which provided a personal financial motive for the coverup and may yet see him facing federal charges.

In short, Cuomo is still a creep — and worse.

There are open questions of whether the Department of Justice will seriously pursue the probes of Cuomo's acknowledged malfeasance given its politicization under the Biden-Harris administration. The DOJ under Biden has already dropped its civil rights probe into COVID nursing home deaths in New York and two other states that adopted and sustained similar policies to Cuomo's deadly 25 March 2020 directive. Only New Jersey currently remains under that scrutiny and only in veterans homes run by the state government.

The other cases being investigated by the DOJ carry more criminal weight, so we'll see what develops. The Biden DOJ however has not done much to establish its credibility in investigating cases involving those, like Cuomo, who are either politically or closely connected with President Biden.

16 March 2021: Peculiar Timing, Silences Involving Cuomo Sexual Harassment Allegations Raises Questions

It's weird how quickly certain media outlets have jumped on the sexual harassment allegation train after months of relative inaction despite mountains of evidence building for Governor Cuomo's nursing home death scandals. So much so we'll deviate from our more focused coverage for this roundup since that change represents a such a perverse development on the part of the news media:

What’s behind the New York Times-led campaign to bring down Andrew Cuomo?

This article may be more notable for where it appears: The World Socialist Web Site, which describes the allegations as "fraudulent".

Cuomo Allegations Arranged to Distract From COVID Situation, Claims Pastor Shane Vaughn

This article is an indication those questions about the truth of the sexual harassment allegations are not limited to those on the far left of the political aisle.

Speaking of allegations of sexual harassment against Governor Cuomo, WNYC interviewed one of the accusers:

• One of Governor Cuomo's accusers (former aide Karen Hinton) speaks out on radio show

For their part, Team Cuomo has sought to attack the credibility of Governor Cuomo's first accuser:

• How Cuomo’s Team Tried to Tarnish One of His Accusers

Meanwhile, there is a very strange silence emanating from the White House and the Vice President's residence:

• Biden hasn't called for Cuomo to resign, but White House faces questions over his fate
• #MeWho? The hypocritical silence of Kamala Harris

For their part, Republicans are pushing the Biden administration to investigate the Cuomo nursing home scandals:

• Republicans call on Biden DOJ to continue Trump-era nursing home investigations

Whether the Biden-Harris administration cares enough about the deadly consequences of the Cuomo administration's COVID nursing home policies remains an unanswered question. Because it's much bigger than just Governor Cuomo.

16 February 2021: President Biden Seems Okay Enough with NY COVID Nursing Home Deaths to Meet with Governor Cuomo

Biden did not discuss NY nursing home deaths with Cuomo, White House says

This article describes the odd relationship that now exists between President Biden and Governor Cuomo. Long allied, we think it likely the lack of discussion on the topic would have been pre-arranged to avoid political embarrassment for the President. What happens next however is entirely up to President Biden, since whether or not he allows a truly independent federal investigation of Governor Cuomo's multiple scandals to take place will say volumes about the President's personal ethics.

18 February 2021: Biden DOJ Wasn't Investigating Cuomo Until DeRosa Admission

Federal Prosecutors Opened Criminal Investigation After Cuomo Aide Admitted Withholding Nursing Home Death Data from State Legislators: Report

This report indicates that President Biden's DOJ officials only opened its criminal investigation after the New York Post broke the story of Cuomo deputy Melissa DeRosa's comments.

... the New York Law Journal's Jane Wester reports that acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme's office opened a criminal probe into "Gov. Andrew Cuomo's coronavirus task force and its handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes" only after news of the DeRosa call went public.

It would seem DeRosa wasn't off base in thinking the Biden DOJ was planning to sit on their hands when she made her comments.

25 February 2021: Miscellaneous Cuomo Scandal Headlines

We're grouping a representative sampling of the day's headlines here because, well, there are so many.

Former Secretary to the Governor speaks on DOJ investigation

This article describes the statements of Steven Cohen, who formerly served as Secretary to the Governor in New York, who defends Governor Cuomo's administration and blames the Trump DOJ for the Governor's current scandals.

Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis: Timeline of the Cuomo Cover-Up

This timeline was put together by Republican committee members in the U.S. House of Representatives, which accounts for its unfortunately slanted title. The timeline itself appears non-partisan, referencing many events and organizations that played a role in initiating the federal probes that Governor Cuomo's administration now faces under the Biden administration.

Psaki: Cuomo sex harass charge 'should be reviewed,' backs off 'gold standard' praise

This article presents a clear indication that Governor Cuomo's COVID-19 nursing home and other scandals are gaining traction. There would be no need for the White House press secretary to distance President Biden from Governor Cuomo otherwise. The open question of how seriously the Biden administration will investigate the Cuomo administration however remains unaddressed.

24 August 2021: Federal Probe of COVID Deaths at NJ Nursing Homes Progresses

Federal investigation into NJ veterans homes moves ahead with family interviews

This report was first published on 13 August 2021. It provides an update on the status of the federal government's continuing probe into the COVID-related deaths at state government operated veterans homes.

Families of residents who died from COVID-19 at the Menlo Park and Paramus veterans homes have begun to be interviewed by federal prosecutors as part of the Justice Department's investigation into the high death toll at the state-run facilities, sources said.

The interviews come as the Justice Department confirmed in a July 23 letter that the probe into the two homes was still active despite the agency's decision to drop a wider investigation launched under the Trump administration into public nursing home deaths in New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Families have also been interviewed in a separate investigation by the state Attorney General's Office.

Few nursing homes in the nation were as devastated by COVID-19 as those in Paramus and Menlo Park, with 192 resident deaths along with two staff members during the height of the pandemic in spring 2020. A third state veterans home in Vineland has had only 11 resident deaths. Poor decisions and questionable policies may have contributed to the high death toll.

The report describes examples of exceptionally deficient care at the state government-operated nursing home facilities for veterans, including the deliberate mixing of COVID patients with non-infected patients, which contributed to the spread of infections and deaths at them.

This federal investigation is one to watch because of the general position of the DOJ under the Biden-Harris administration. The department has demonstrated a strong desire to drop civil rights probes involving COVID deaths at nursing homes started by the DOJ under the Trump administration in the four states that adopted similar policies as New York's deadly 25 March 2020 directive.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the DOJ dropped its probe in New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania, but not New Jersey, which indicates it has a level of official misconduct and deficient care that could not be swept under the rug, even though President Biden has repeatedly signaled his willingness to look the other way at excess COVID nursing home deaths in these states.

13 August 2021 also saw a request by Republican members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearings into the civil rights of senior citizens in Michigan, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania who lost their lives to COVID during the periods their state governors sustained policies forcing nursing homes to admit COVID patients during the pandemic. Independent analysis indicates the Cuomo administration's deadly 25 March 2020 directive in New York contributed to hundreds, and possibly more than a thousand excess COVID deaths in the state's nursing homes.

26 July 2021: Bill Hammond on Biden DOJ Dropping Non-Criminal Probe of Cuomo Nursing Home Deaths

Q&A: What the nursing home inquiry's end means

Bill Hammond of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Empire Center for Public Policy addressed several questions in which he explained the significance of Biden DOJ's action to suspend its civil probe of excess COVID deaths in New York's nursing homes during the period the Cuomo administration's deadly 25 March 2020 directive was in effect. In the following excerpt, Hammond's response to the fourth question asked is one that stood out for its potential significance:

Spectrum News 1: To that point, I've heard it's harder to make a criminal investigation than a civil rights case. What does that tell us?

Hammond: I thought it was noteworthy this letter referred to the Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act and not the false claims. That original investigation applied to four states. The False Claims Act was limited to New York. The letter to the Republican members of Congress from the Justice Department only referred to that original investigation that was in all four states. So, there's a possibility in my mind anyway that DOJ is still looking at the False Claims Act piece of this.

I don't feel like that letter is a signal Cuomo is off the hook. If anything the most dangerous investigation to him and his administration is the one coming out of the U.S. Attorney's Office. And that one is still alive, on good authority, is alive. It's not going anywhere.

Since Hammond's comments, media outlets reported the Biden DOJ is continuing its probe of New Jersey Governor Murphy's COVID policies in nursing homes for veterans operated by the state government, aftert the Murphy administration failed to cooperate by providing requested data and information. The Murphy administration adopted an almost identical policy as New York's 25 March 2020 directive.

This entry was retroactively added to the timeline on 28 July 2021.

24 September 2023: Op-Ed - Cuomo Health Commissioner "Dr. Howard Zucker Should Not Be at the CDC"

Why did Biden hire N.Y.’s COVID doc? Dr. Howard Zucker should not be at the CDC

Peter and Daniel Arbeeny, whose father died of COVID in a New York nursing home during the period Andrew M. Cuomo's deadly 25 March 2020 directive was in effect are shocked that former New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, who participated in developing and implementing the fatally-flawed policy, has been hired by the CDC. They voice their shock and dismay in a letter to President Biden in this New York Daily News op-ed. Here's he text of their letter in full:

Dear President Biden,

Our family was shocked to learn that your administration appointed Dr. Howard Zucker to a high-ranking position at the CDC. This was a huge mistake. In his previous job as New York State health commissioner, Zucker played a direct and willing role in many of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s most disastrous and corrupt actions during the pandemic. He should be fighting to keep his license to practice medicine. Instead he was elevated to represent the CDC on a world stage.

We write this as proud lifelong Democrats who lost a loved one who contracted COVID in a New York City nursing home in March of 2020. Our father, Norman Arbeeny, was admitted to the nursing home for reasons unrelated to COVID. Less than 24 hours after our family took him home, he became sick. He passed away just before his COVID-19 test came back positive.

Because he died at home, his death was never included in the nursing home death toll. We have been outspoken critics of former Gov. Cuomo and his administration for their lies and cover-ups. We are also suing the former Cuomo administration in an effort to hold accountable all the people who made decisions without the public’s best interest in mind.

In her first interview as the new CDC director, Dr. Mandy Cohen, said she is refocusing the agency on more transparency. We agree that “trust” is the foundation of the hard work the agency faces as it moves forward. It is no secret that missteps were made and that we can learn from them. However, we need to draw a clear line between missteps and deliberate actions that were meant to hide the truth and deceive the public. Let us explain:

In early 2020, New York nursing homes were wholly unprepared to accept COVID-positive patients, let alone thousands of them. Knowing this, the CDC released a report on March 18, 2020, cautioning nursing homes to take steps to avoid the spread of COVID given its “substantial morbidity and mortality.” Yet on March 25, the state Health Department issued an order requiring nursing homes to accept COVID-infected patients being discharged from hospitals. More than 9,000 such transfers were completed over the next six weeks — which undeniably contributed to the 15,000-plus deaths of long-term care residents in the pandemic’s first year.

Instead of acknowledging his mistake, Zucker chose to aid and abet Cuomo’s efforts to mislead the public. His agency published a politicized report on July 6, 2020, which gave a death toll of 6,432 when the real count was closer to 12,000. It also falsely claimed that the March 25 order had not contributed to that total.

In a March 2022 audit of the Health Department, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli concluded: “The public was misled at the highest levels of State government and given a distorted version of reality that suppressed facts when they deserved the truth.”

That shamefully politicized DOH report is still on the state’s website, and most of its lies have not been removed or corrected.

California Congressman Ami Bera — an M.D. with public health experience — spoke for many at a public hearing: “For the life of me, I can’t understand why anyone would take a COVID-positive patient and put them in a nursing home,” Bera said. “That’s medical malpractice.”

Bill Hammond of the Empire Center authored an August 2023 report revealing that “of lives lost — New York’s response was not merely sub-par or below average, but among the least effective in the world.”

The facts clearly demonstrate that Zucker repeatedly chose to support falsehoods propagated by the former administration rather than prioritize the lives of New Yorkers he vowed to protect. Zucker claimed he was following CDC guidelines when allowing hospital-discharged COVID-positive patients into nursing homes without testing. Far from acknowledging his mistakes, Zucker has doubled down and said he would do it all again.

Since trust and transparency are the hallmark of new leadership at the CDC, we respectfully request that you launch an investigation into Zucker’s actions — and share the findings with the public. This would go a long way toward rebuilding the country’s faith. As you clearly know, a loss of public trust bankrupts good governance and statesmanship. How can we provide genuine solutions if we cannot come to a mutual understanding of the truth? After Zucker’s demonstrably false statements and reports, there is little justification for him to continue practicing medicine. Howard Zucker must be held fully accountable for his extensive misdeeds, which have left New Yorkers sicker, poorer, and prematurely deceased.

We opted to present the full text of the letter because it provides a sound overview of Andrew M. Cuomo's ongoing COVID nursing home deaths scandals.

This entry was added to the timeline on 8 October 2023.

17 October 2023: Cuomo Legal Probe Cost to NY Taxpayers at $20 Million and Rising

Taxpayers on hook for at least $20M from Cuomo investigations

Multiple federal, state, and local criminal and civil investigations into resigned-in-disgrace former New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's nursing home deaths scandals, book deal, and the sexual harassment allegations that were used to force him from office have cost New York taxpayers over $20 million. But how much more than $20 million remains to be answered because the legal bills are still rising.

Here's the introduction from Brendan J. Lyons' coverage in the Albany Times-Union:

The myriad state and federal investigations of Andrew M. Cuomo and his administration have cost taxpayers at least $20 million in legal fees — expenses that continue to mount as the former governor defends himself in two sexual harassment lawsuits as well as an ongoing court battle over his lucrative deal to publish a book about his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The article also provides the following information related to Cuomo's cost of defending himself from criminal charges stemming from Cuomo's nursing home deaths scandals, which are a consequence of Cuomo's deadly 25 March 2020 directive:

Cuomo's legal expenses began to mount in March 2021 when the then-governor hired the white-collar law firm Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello to represent his administration in a now-dormant investigation by the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office that examined, in part, the actions of Cuomo’s coronavirus task force in its handling of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities during the pandemic. Cuomo hired the firm a month after the Times Union reported the administration was the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.

That probe, which focused on the work of some of the senior members of the governor’s task force, resulted in no charges. The Morvillo Abramowitz firm has been paid more than $2.5 million for its work, which included responding to the Justice Department’s investigation that had also examined whether Cuomo’s administration had given false information about the number of nursing home deaths tied to COVID-19 in what critics charged was an attempt to buttress his book deal.

We'll interject at this point to note the responsibility for the U.S. Department of Justice's decision to not press criminal charges against Cuomo lies with the Biden administration. Cuomo is a close friend and political ally of President Biden. The administration's strange choice to let Cuomo escape facing any federal criminal charges in 2021 was an early indication of how it would approach criminal allegations against those closely linked to President Biden.

The next part of the article recaps Cuomo's nursing home deaths scandals, including his administration's attempted cover-up of the excess deaths that resulted:

Nearly three weeks after the governor’s task force was announced in 2020, the state health department issued an order directing nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to admit residents who were being discharged from hospitals even if they were still testing positive for the infectious disease, as long as the facilities were able to care for them properly.

That directive, which was rescinded less than two months later, became the focus of a firestorm of criticism directed at Cuomo’s administration, including allegations that the order — which the governor said was based on federal guidance — had contributed to the high number of fatalities of nursing home residents in New York. That assertion was largely dismissed in a July 2020 report released by the state Department of Health, which asserted the spread in those facilities was the result of infected staff members.

In January 2021, the office of Attorney General Letitia James issued a scathing report that concluded his administration’s directives may have increased the risk of COVID-19 infections at congregate facilities such as nursing homes. The report found the administration had deliberately delayed reporting that thousands of additional nursing home residents died at hospitals after being infected in their residential facilities.

Cuomo later stopped short of apologizing for his administration’s handling of the fatality data, though he conceded they had created a “void” by not providing the accurate information requested by state lawmakers. His office said some of the blame for that stonewalling was due to what they claimed was a politically motivated civil inquiry by the Justice Department.

Through 17 October 2023, Cuomo has failed to apologize for his nursing home deaths scandals.

Perhaps the greater shame however belongs to New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who declined to prosecute Cuomo under New York state law in any of Cuomo's nursing home deaths scandals. Or for that matter, the sexual harassment allegations she raised.

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.