check yours next time I-Mel, Andrew!
House Republicans provided a copy of the Post Thursday an email Andrew Cuomo’s attorney was sent last week, asking him to appear at Wednesday’s hearing on the New York nursing home death scandal — casting doubt on his spokesman’s claim it was lost by the Postal Service. .
House Oversight Committee employee Ashley Vineyard emailed Cuomo’s attorney, Rita Glavin, on September 16, calling her “the attached invitation For Mr. Cuomo,” the GOP majority of the panel also tweeted, Vineyard asked Glavin to “accept the receipt”, but he did not.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalis (R-La.), the top Republican on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, and Representative Alice Stefnick (R-NY) condemned Cuomo’s absence on Wednesday, adding his testimony with a summons next year. vowed to force. If Republicans take the House again.
But Cuomo spokesman Rich Azopardi told The Post on Wednesday that the invitation never arrived.
“Scalise must learn to use [the] postal service because we never received the letter,” said Azopardi.
Glavin and Ezopardi did not immediately respond to Post’s inquiries on email evidence provided by Republicans on the committee.
Scalise tore to Cuomo’s excuse in a statement to The Post, saying that Cuomo “continues to distort facts and blaming as he tries to cover up the truth about his fatal order that was COVID-19.” Sending positive patients to nursing homes.”
“We sent his lawyer an electronic invitation to appear before the subcommittee, but the former governor continued to withhold transparency and congressional oversight,” Skellis said.
“In addition, we have called Cuomo several times to provide information and data about his deadly ‘must accept’ order, but to this day he has been hiding the truth. Americans deserve transparency and accountability, and families.” Thousands of members of the U.S., who have lost their loved ones, deserve answers from the man who ordered the fatality and forced COVID positive patients to go back to nursing homes.”
Scalise said that “when Republicans withdraw the House and have subpoena powers, Cuomo will no longer be able to hide from the accountability and transparency of Congressional oversight.”
Meanwhile, Stefnick said she considers Cuomo’s successor and former lieutenant governor, Cathy Hochul, “Associate” in nursing home deaths.
“Since the government has forced Cuomo to resign, Kathy Hochul, the current lieutenant governor, promised to fight for transparency. When she said so she lied,” Stefanik said during Wednesday’s hearing. .
“As the families came forward, they tried to reach out to the governor and share their views, as well as the nursing home staff. But what was the governor’s attention on?” Stefnik said. “He was focused on winning his Emmy, which had since been taken away from him, and he was focusing on cooking the books, withholding the numbers, so he could get his $5.2 million book contract.” , which was immoral.”
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Cuomo Barred on March 25, 2020 Nursing homes are prohibited from turning away patients “only on the basis of a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19”, which families of victims say has led to the deaths of thousands of elderly residents.
Cuomo’s order, which lasted less than two months, was meant to ease hospital congestion. But critics say it instead caused unnecessary deaths as federal treatment facilities It was closed due to being unveiled to great fanfare by the then President Trump. Very little patients,
The Justice Department launched an investigation in 2020 into whether New York violated federal civil rights for nursing home patients and whether the facilities provided “extremely substandard care.” FBI later examined A clear coverup of the death figures.
The Post revealed last year that Cuomo affiliates Melissa DeRosa confesses To Democratic legislators that the administration decided to hide death figures in nursing homes because “we froze” fears that the data would be “used against us” by prosecutors.
The federal investigation was apparently closed after President Biden took office and replaced the leaders of the Trump administration in the Justice Department.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said last year that nearly 50 percent More nursing home patient deaths than were reported by Cuomo’s administration. Her report indicated that nearly a third of New York’s more than 43,000 COVID-19 deaths at the time were linked to nursing homes.
According to James, more than 13,000 New York nursing home patients may have died from the virus. The official state count accepted 8,711 deaths at the time. Before James released his findings, a Associated Press analysis In August 2020 it was found that 11,000 New York nursing home residents may have died.
A book released last month by former White House adviser Jared Kushner said Cuomo specifically mentioned his concern about nursing home safety. 10 days before ordering houses To take sick patients.
Cuomo reportedly told Kushner “for nursing homes, it can be like fire through hay,” before issuing the controversial order next week.