Congresswoman Claudia Tenney led a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on June 3, requesting a status update and urging the Department of Justice to act on the criminal referral of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The referral concerns allegations that Cuomo made false statements to Congress about his administration’s handling of nursing home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The criminal referral was originally transmitted by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. It stems from testimony provided by Cuomo before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which investigated New York’s March 25, 2020 nursing home directive and an alleged coverup of related fatalities. The subcommittee reviewed approximately 550,000 pages of documents and conducted numerous witness interviews. Its findings concluded there is substantial evidence that Cuomo made multiple materially false statements regarding his involvement in drafting a New York State Department of Health report, its peer review process, and the influence of outside individuals or organizations.
The letter also highlighted that more than 9,000 COVID-positive patients were admitted or readmitted to nursing homes as a result of the directive. Tenney said families across New York continue to seek answers and accountability for their losses: “Thousands of New York families suffered unimaginable loss during the pandemic and deserve the truth about the decisions that were made and the actions that followed,” said Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. “The evidence assembled by Congress raises serious concerns that former Governor Cuomo knowingly misled Congress while under oath in an effort to avoid accountability for one of the most consequential public health failures in New York history. No one is above the law, regardless of their position or political ambitions. The Department of Justice must follow the facts, provide transparency regarding this referral, and ensure that the American people can have confidence that justice is applied equally to everyone.”
Claudia Tenney has served in U.S. Congress representing New York’s 24th District since 2021 after replacing Anthony Brindisi; she previously served in the New York State Assembly from 2011 to 2016, according to the U.S. House website. She was born in New Hartford in 1961 and lives in Canandaigua; she graduated from Colgate University with a BA in 1983 and earned her JD from University of Cincinnati in 1987, according to the same source.
