Trump DOJ Opens Probe Into Andrew Cuomo Over COVID Testimony, Muddying Mayoral Bid

Disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), who resigned amid twin scandals regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, is now the subject of an investigation undertaken by the U.S. Justice Department.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the investigation had begun about one month earlier, and that it stemmed from his order mandating that nursing homes in the state of New York accept patients regardless of whether or not they’d tested positive for COVID-19.

The times cited two as-yet-unnamed “sources familiar with the matter” and said, “The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of Andrew M. Cuomo, a front-runner in the New York City mayoral race, after Republicans accused him of lying to Congress about decisions he made during the coronavirus pandemic as governor.”

A Justice Department spokesperson reportedly declined to comment on the situation, citing a policy against discussing ongoing investigations either to confirm or deny their existence.

Cuomo is currently leading the Democratic field going into the next New York City mayoral election, and his spokesman Rich Azzopardi claimed that the investigation was politically motivated.

“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,” Azzopardi said, arguing that Cuomo had “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.”

The investigation was opened by the Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney’s Office when Ed Martin was still serving in the position on an interim basis. Jeanine Pirro has since been appointed to the role and her office will spearhead the investigation.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said after a hearing in June of 2024 that he had seen “overwhelming evidence” that Cuomo had been part of a 2020 audit that undercounted COVID nursing home deaths by 46%. He was referred to the Justice Department for what were termed “criminally false statements.”

The news comes just weeks after the Justice Department dropped a case against current Mayor Eric Adams — who is running for reelection as an independent — over concerns that it had been a political prosecution undertaken by the DOJ under former President Joe Biden.