Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, RN.Y., said on Monday that a federal investigation into the treatment of data related to coronavirus deaths in nursing homes across New York should move forward immediately.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, D., and his government were severely criticized for not fully reporting the figures after Cuomo ordered nursing homes to receive residents who had been hospitalized with COVID-19. The backlash against this policy, which aimed to free up space in hospitals, intensified after Cuomo’s aide admitted that the government withheld data from the Department of Justice.
“The dam is breaking, you are seeing an overwhelming bipartisan outcry. Democrats … need to grow a backbone and defend what is right,” she said in “The Faulkner Focus”, calling Cuomo “the worst governor in America” In dealing with the pandemic.
CUOMO AIDE SAID THE NY DEMOCRATS ADMINISTRATION HIDDEN DOMESTIC NURSING DATA TO KEEP FROM TRUMP DOJ: REPORT
REP. ELISE STEFANIK: “You have Democrats and Republicans calling for an independent investigation. I want to see subpoenas at the state level, the Senate and the State Assembly must issue subpoenas immediately, and I want the Justice Department to initiate an independent investigation. We know from the partial transcript that was disclosed by the secretary to the governor that there was obstruction of justice.
This is not about politics, but about people’s lives. What was so shameful in the released transcript was that the governor’s secretary did not apologize for the number of deaths, did not apologize for politics, but apologized for the political repercussions for Democrats. It is a disgrace. President Biden must keep his promise that the Justice Department will be independent of political pressure from Governor Cuomo, who is a Democrat. But, for the Department of Justice and law enforcement, this accusation needs to move forward immediately.
Less than a month ago, state senators blocked subpoenas and blocked state Senate Republicans who wanted to control [Cuomo’s] emergency powers. Now the dam is breaking. You see the overwhelming bipartisan outcry … Everyone knows that Governor Cuomo is a bully. They intimidate people within their own party. This is more important. We are talking about lives that were lost here, so these Democratic state senators and the Democratic Congressional delegation need to grow a spine and a little political courage and fight for what is right, for the people of this state that deserve justice. Therefore, we will see these subpoenas and this investigation must begin immediately. No excuses after last week’s bomb.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
Last week, Governor Melissa DeRosa’s secretary said the Cuomo administration feared that data on COVID-19 deaths could “be used against us” by the Justice Department in the midst of its federal investigation against four states regarding deaths in nursing homes, including New York.
On Friday, DeRosa sought to clarify her comments, saying she was “explaining that when we received the DOJ inquiry, we need to temporarily void the Legislature’s request to deal with the federal request first.”
Ronn Blitzer of Fox News contributed to this report