Andrew Cuomo under investigation over allegedly lying about COVID decisions

"Mr. Cuomo, do you have anything that will poke me, hurt me, or stick me?"

The Justice Department’s got former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in its crosshairs, and it’s a wild ride. 

Word on the street is that the DOJ’s sniffing around Cuomo for allegedly pulling a fast one on Congress about his COVID-19 decisions while he was running the Empire State. This has been confirmed by Fox News.

The New York Times dropped the bombshell that the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. kicked off this probe about a month ago, right after top DOJ brass told prosecutors to drop corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams like a hot potato.

The DOJ’s keeping its lips sealed, declining to comment to Fox News. 

Now, here’s where it gets spicy. The Trump administration is in a weird spot, closing the book on Adams’ case while cracking open a fresh one on Cuomo, Adams’ big rival, just months apart. Talk about a political soap opera. Cuomo’s gunning for the Big Apple’s mayor spot in the Democratic primary, while Adams is fighting to keep his seat as an independent. 

Cuomo’s camp isn’t taking this lying down. His spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, came out swinging: “We have never been informed of any such matter, so why would someone leak it now? The answer is obvious: This is lawfare and election interference plain and simple—something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against. Governor Cuomo testified truthfully to the best of his recollection about events from four years earlier, and he offered to address any follow-up questions from the Subcommittee — but from the beginning this was all transparently political.” Shots fired.

Last year, Republican lawmakers grilled Cuomo like a cheap steak over his handling of the COVID-19 clusterfrack. House Republicans didn’t hold back, urging the DOJ to slap him with criminal charges for allegedly lying through his teeth during the House Oversight Committee’s probe into the sky-high nursing home death toll. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer, (R-KY), personally handed Cuomo’s case to Trump’s DOJ for prosecution.

Cuomo, the Democratic golden boy and current frontrunner in NYC’s mayoral primary, was first referred to the Biden DOJ for criminal charges back in October 2024. Former Rep. Brad Wenstrup, then head of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, didn’t mince words, accusing Cuomo of making “multiple criminally false statements” to Congress about the 2020 nursing home death scandal.

Rewind to March 2020. Cuomo, then governor, issued a directive that stopped nursing homes from turning away COVID-positive patients, all in the name of freeing up hospital beds. That move backfired big time—over 9,000 recovering COVID patients were sent to nursing homes, and many say it poured gas on the outbreak fire. The directive got scrapped after the damage was done.

Eight plaintiffs in a lawsuit claimed their loved ones caught COVID in nursing homes and died because of Cuomo’s call. They’re pointing fingers at him and his crew, saying they’re civilly liable for the deaths and for fudging the nursing home death count. A March 2022 New York state comptroller report backed that up, slamming Cuomo’s Health Department for being “not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes” and understating deaths by as much as 50% at times. Ouch.

Cuomo’s defense? He says he was just following CDC and CMS guidance at the time. Classic pass-the-buck move from a liar.

Fast forward to last month, Comer sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, griping that the Biden crew ignored his earlier referral despite “clear facts and evidence.” He’s now begging Bondi to take a hard look and “take appropriate action.”

Comer didn’t hold back in a Monday statement, tearing into Cuomo: “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. 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. 

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Let’s be clear, lying to Congress is a federal crime. Andrew 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.”

So, there you have it—a political cage match with Cuomo in the hot seat. Will he dodge this bullet, or is the DOJ about to land a knockout punch? Stay tuned, because this one’s gonna get messy.

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Biden blocked by judge from giving Obamacare to DACA recipients

A federal judge in North Dakota on Monday blocked the Biden administration from putting into action a new policy that would have made some illegal immigrants eligible for government-supported health care.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor agreed to stop a new rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would have let people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status sign up for Obamacare. Traynor stated that Kansas and the 18 Republican attorneys general who challenged the policy were likely to win, so he issued a stay against it.

Traynor pointed out that CMS broke the law when it decided to include DACA recipients in the definition of "lawfully present" in the U.S. DACA recipients are people who entered the country illegally as children with their parents and were protected from deportation by an executive action from President Barack Obama.

“The authority granted to CMS by the ACA [Affordable Care Act] is to ascertain whether an individual meets the requirements for lawful status. It by no means allows the agency to circumvent congressional authority and redefine the term ‘lawfully present,’” Traynor wrote.

“As it currently stands, the ACA does not allow federal healthcare subsidies or coverage for aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States,” he added.

Traynor also agreed with the Republican attorneys general that the policy could encourage illegal immigrants to stay in their states because of the healthcare benefits.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who led the lawsuit, celebrated the decision, saying, “Big win for the rule of law. Congress never intended that illegal aliens should receive Obama care benefits. Indeed, two laws prohibit them from receiving such benefits. The Biden administration tried to break those laws. But we fought back, and defeated the Justice Department.”

The states involved in the lawsuit were Ohio, Idaho, Nebraska, South Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Arkansas. They argued that the rule was arbitrary, capricious, and would encourage more illegal immigration.

In response, CMS mentioned they were reviewing the judge's decision but couldn't comment further.

This rule change was opposed by President-elect Donald Trump, whose campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt called it “unfair and unsustainable” back in May.

“Joe Biden's handouts for illegal immigrants are especially devastating to Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and union workers who are forced to watch their jobs and public resources stolen by people who illegally entered our country,” Leavitt, Trump's incoming press secretary, said at the time.

Last month, another judge overturned a different Biden administration program that would have given legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.

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