- In the early days of the pandemic, many hailed Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York as a hero.
- Now, the FBI and a US legal professional’s workplace are investigating Cuomo over his handling of nursing properties.
- New York Democrats are additionally working to strip Cuomo of the emergency powers he obtained final spring.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
After being hailed as a hero within the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York is now going through an investigation by federal prosecutors and an try by his fellow Democratic state lawmakers to strip him of his emergency powers.
Cuomo has confronted increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over latest reviews that his administration withheld knowledge on COVID-19 deaths in nursing properties and severely undercounted nursing-home deaths. The fallout is related to an government order that Cuomo issued in March, when hospitals have been directed to launch coronavirus-positive sufferers again to their nursing properties.
Now, the FBI and the US legal professional’s workplace for the Eastern District of New York are investigating Cuomo’s handling of nursing properties throughout the pandemic, the Times Union reported. The US legal professional’s investigation is a component of an inquiry into the highest members of Cuomo’s coronavirus activity power.
The Department of Justice didn’t reply to a request for remark from Insider.
“As we publicly mentioned, DOJ has been trying into this for months,” Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, advised the Times Union. “We have been cooperating with them and we’ll proceed to.”
Lawmakers in New York from Cuomo’s personal celebration are additionally pushing again towards the governor. Top Democrats within the New York State Senate are attempting to take away Cuomo’s emergency powers that he was granted within the early days of the pandemic, The New York Times reported.
The measure, which might come to a vote subsequent week, emerged over a report that Cuomo lashed out at an area lawmaker for criticizing his pandemic response.
Assemblyman Ron Kim, who’s one of the Democrats supporting the hassle to strip Cuomo’s emergency powers, mentioned Cuomo threatened to “destroy” him if he didn’t “cowl up” for the governor, CNN reported. Cuomo’s advisor denied Kim’s accusation.
Cuomo has been dismissive of the criticism lobbied towards him. In a convention name with reporters Wednesday, the governor accused former President Donald Trump, Fox News, and the New York Post of conspiring against him.
He additionally defended his actions on nursing properties, saying his choices have been primarily based on federal steering, a declare that PolitiFact has rated “largely false.”
