What questions will the GOP ask about Merrick Garland?
The Hunter Biden investigation, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home scandal should be the topic of the hearing for the attorney general to choose Merrick Garland. Jamil Jaffer, director of the National Security Law & Policy Program at George Mason University, with reaction.
Deputy Attorney General Merrick Garland promised on Monday that the Justice Department would avoid conflicts of interest in any investigation into how New York Governor Andrew Cuomo handled the nursing home crisis during the coronavirus pandemic. .
The United States attorney’s office in the East District of New York is reportedly in the early stages of an investigation into the Cuomo administration. The investigation, first reported by the Albany Times-Union, would target members of the Cuomo coronavirus task force, which includes the secretary of Governor Melissa DeRosa.
DeRosa is the senior adviser to the Cuomo administration, who admitted that his office withheld data on deaths in nursing homes for fear that they could be used in a federal investigation. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lobbied Garland about the situation during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, pointing out that Audrey Strauss, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, is DeRosa’s mother-in-law.
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“In this case, the acting United States attorney is the mother-in-law of the senior Cuomo government official who admitted the cover-up,” said Cruz. “Are you going to at least commit to not having the investigation done by a person with a conflict of interest?”
“Sure,” said Garland in response. “I don’t know any of the facts, but I can guarantee that a person with a conflict of interest will not be the person who is conducting an investigation of any kind.”
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Few details have emerged about the DOJ investigation under the Cuomo administration. Rich Azzopardi, a senior adviser to the governor, said his government is cooperating with federal officials.
Since the case is allegedly led by US Attorney Seth DuCharme of the Eastern District of New York, it is unclear what role, if any, the Southern District will play in the investigation. When asked about the case, Garland refused to go into details.
“With all these investigations, the Justice Department is open to evidence of fraud, false statements and violations of the law,” said Garland of the case. “They usually start properly, in the respective office of the United States attorney general. That’s how something like this happens, without commenting in particular because I don’t know the facts ”.
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Critics focused on Cuomo’s implementation of a March 25 order that urged nursing homes to accept recovering patients with COVID-19 at their facility. In response to criticism, Cuomo said the order was made according to federal guidelines at the time and was not a significant factor in the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that New York significantly underreported the number of COVID-19 deaths that occurred at its nursing facilities. Cuomo acknowledged that it was a “mistake” not to report the data earlier, but said that all data was reported accurately.