Republican payback for years of Democrat-led lawfare against conservatives is evidently starting to kick into gear, as House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer referred the former Governor of the State of New York, Andrew M. Cuomo, for criminal prosecution for telling, Rep. Comer alleges, “criminally false statements.”
As background, Gov. Cuomo was in charge of New York during the COVID-19 pandemic and, as part of that, allegedly lied about the situation in New York’s nursing homes as disaster struck and thousands died, an alleged lie that Republicans think is big enough to justify criminal charges from the DOJ.
Describing the background of the criminal referral in a press release, the House Oversight Committee said, after noting that Chairman Comer had sent a criminal referral to Pam Bondi, “Evidence and witness testimony gathered suggest Mr. Cuomo knowingly and willfully made false statements to the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on numerous occasions about material aspects of New York’s COVID-19 nursing home disaster and the ensuing cover-up. The Select Subcommittee’s investigation exposed Mr. Cuomo’s deliberate, self-serving effort to dodge responsibility for the thousands of lives lost in New York’s nursing homes during the pandemic.”
Describing the lies somewhat later in the press release, the Oversight Committee said, “Overwhelming evidence uncovered by the Select Subcommittee proves that Mr. Cuomo reviewed, edited, and even drafted portions of a purportedly independent and peer-reviewed New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Report that was used to combat criticism of his Administration’s pandemic-era nursing home policies.”
Then, outlining the main lies for which Cuomo is facing a criminal referral, the Oversight Committee said, “This Report low-balled nursing home fatalities and blamed nursing home staff for causing excess COVID-19 deaths. During Mr. Cuomo’s transcribed interview in June, he testified (1) he was not involved in the review or drafting of this Report, (2) he did not have any discussions about a peer-review of the Report, and (3) he did not have any knowledge of individuals outside the NYSDOH reviewing the Report.”
Concluding, it noted that all of those statements were false, leading to the justification for criminal charges, saying, “Each of these statements are demonstrably false. In October 2024, the Select Subcommittee recommended the DOJ review the evidence laid out in a criminal referral and immediately evaluate criminal charges against Mr. Cuomo.”
In the letter to AG Bondi itself, Chairman Comer said, “On October 30, 2024, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (Select Subcommittee) referred former Governor of the State of New York, Andrew M. Cuomo, for making criminally false statements in violation 18 U.S.C. §1001.’ To our knowledge, the Biden Administration ignored this referral despite clear facts and evidence. Accordingly, we request you review this referral and take appropriate action. For your reference, the referral is attached to this letter.”
Continuing, he noted that his committee was well within its rights to investigate Cuomo and asked her to contact him with any questions, saying, “The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X. To ask any follow up questions, please contact the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority staff at (202) 225-5074. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.”
Commenting on the charges, Comer himself said, “Andrew Cuomo is a man with a history of corruption and deceit, now caught red-handed lying to Congress during the Select Subcommittee’s investigation into the COVID-19 nursing home tragedy in New York.”
He added that Cuomo’s lies to Congress were a federal crime, saying, “This wasn’t a slip-up—it was a calculated cover-up by a man seeking to shield himself from responsibility for the devastating loss of life in New York’s nursing homes. Let’s be clear: lying to Congress is a federal crime.”
Concluding, Chairman Comer said, “Mr. Cuomo must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The House Oversight Committee is prepared to fully cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation into Andrew Cuomo’s actions and ensure he’s held to account.”
Featured image credit: United States Department of Justice, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pam_Bondi_in_2025_(cropped).jpg