The House Select Subcommittee on the COVID-19 pandemic requested testimony from four disgraced New York former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Administration members.
Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said that the four aids “will be forced to evaluate the use of the compulsory” measures if they fail to appear for in-person, sit-down transcribed interview before House Republicans.
On Friday, letters were sent out to Elizabeth Garvey, a former special counselor and senior adviser to Cuomo; Gareth Rhodes, the former deputy superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services; James Malatras, the ex-governor former policy adviser; and Linda Lacewell, the former superintendent of the Department of Financial Services.
A spokesperson for Cuomo told the New York Post that House Republicans have “politicized and weaponized” the deaths of those who died from COVID.
“It’s unfortunate that people’s pain continues to be politicized and weaponized in order to distort the truth — which is that the Department of Justice, twice, the AG, the Manhattan DA, and the Assembly all critically examined this and found no there there,” spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.
Azzopardi accused the panel of misrepresenting Cuomo’s COVID response for years.
In March 2020, Cuomo issued a health order that forced senior care facilities to accept thousands of COVID-infected patients who were being discharged from hospitals. The governor’s decision was meant to help relieve overburdened hospitals in the city plagued with COVID-19 patients.
New York’s comptroller revealed that Cuomo had “misled the public” after he undercounted the deaths by more than 50 percent, according to a report from Attorney General Letitia James’s (D) office. The House panel said that Cuomo caused more than 15,000 nursing home patients to die.
“New Yorkers, especially, deserve answers,” the House COVID panel posted on X.