Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is the latest legislator to call for an investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's disastrous nursing home policy.
“I support our state's return to co-equal governance and stand with our local officials calling for a full investigation of the Cuomo administration's handling of nursing homes during COVID-19,” AOC said in a statement.
“Thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers lost their lives in nursing homes throughout the pandemic. Their loved ones and the public deserve answers and transparency from their elected leadership, and the Secretary to the Governor's remarks warrant a full investigation,” the statement read.
Under Cuomo's policy, COVID-positive patients were moved from hospitals to nursing homes to free up bed space in hospitals. To make matters even worse, it was revealed that Cuomo and his staff were cooking the books and underreporting the number of nursing home deaths that were attributed to his policy. Attorney General Letitia James (D) found that the death count was underreported by as much as 50 percent.
The information came to light when one of Cuomo's top aides, Melissa DeRosa, admitted the administration had not been forthcoming with the data from nursing home deaths. The Cuomo administration hid the true numbers because they worried about political payback.
To make matters even worse, Assemblyman Ron Kim (D) has accused Cuomo of threatening to "destroy" him unless the assemblyman helped get the scandal brushed aside.
Democrats in the assembly are currently looking to strip Cuomo of the emergency powers he was granted due to the Wuhan coronavirus. The FBI and US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York have also launched investigations into the nursing home policy.
