In light of new reports alleging New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and his staff engaged in a cover-up of New York’s nursing home COVID-19 death toll, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and others on a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), calling for the Committee to investigate Cuomo’s COVID-19 cover-up.
Other cosigners include Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
The letter follows Grassley’s call for the Biden administration to ensure that federal investigations into potential public corruption or civil rights violations stemming from the state’s handling of COVID-19 be free from any conflict of interest.
In the letter, the senators outlined their expectation for Judge Merrick Garland, President Biden’s nominee for Attorney General, to commit to investigating Cuomo’s COVID-19 cover-up:
“When Judge Garland testifies before this Committee, we expect him to commit the Department of Justice to fully investigating this cover-up to determine whether any criminal laws were violated and to prosecute any violations. We will also ask him whether he has the resources he needs to fully pursue an investigation, not only into the deaths that occurred in New York but the deaths that occurred in other states that adopted similar directives leading to the admission of COVID-19 infected persons into elder care facilities,” the senators wrote.
They continued, urging Durbin to open an investigation and schedule hearings into Cuomo’s COVID-19 cover-up: “But an investigation by the Department of Justice is rightly conducted behind closed doors and will not provide timely and public accountability for those who played politics with COVID-19 at the expense of the lives of American senior citizens.
“That is why we ask you to open an investigation and schedule hearings on this critical issue. The American people deserve to know the extent to which Governor Cuomo and his senior staff violated the civil rights of New York seniors, lied to the Department of Justice about their actions, and violated federal civil and criminal laws in the process.”