Andrew Cuomo won't face charges over COVID-19 nursing home deaths: attorney
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not face prosecution over his temporary policy of placing COVID-19 patients in nursing homes, according to a statement from an attorney.
Elkan Abramowitz, an attorney who formerly represented the office of the governor while Cuomo was in power, released a statement saying that no charges were going to be filed.
“I was contacted today by the head of the Elder Care Unit from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office who informed me they have closed its investigation involving the Executive Chamber and nursing homes,” stated Abramowitz, as reported by the New York Post.
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“I was told that after a thorough investigation — as we have said all along — there was no evidence to suggest that any laws were broken.”
Janice Dean, a Fox News meteorologist whose in-laws were among the thousands who died due to Cuomo's directive to move COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, took to Twitter to denounce Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“We won’t forget how you conveniently dropped charges against Andrew Cuomo just hours after being sworn into office. There are thousands of families still fighting for answers despite your negligence,” she told Bragg.
In March 2020, as the pandemic was beginning to hit New York, Cuomo had around 9,000 recovering COVID-19 patients transported to hundreds of nursing homes in the state.
Cuomo was widely criticized for the move, as many argued that the directive resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly residents who were especially vulnerable to the virus.
In February of last year, The Associated Press reported that as many as 15,000 nursing home residents died from COVID-19 during the time that Cuomo's directive was in effect.
Cuomo gained further negative attention for his past actions when reports surfaced that his administration was covering up the number of documented COVID-19 related deaths in nursing homes.
When the New York Post reported that Cuomo’s top aide Melissa DeRosa had admitted that the administration was covering up the actual death toll due to the directive, many called for Cuomo to be prosecuted.
“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,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., last year, in a statement quoted by the NY Post.
“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.”
