GOP-led House panel renews referral of Andrew Cuomo for prosecution over Covid testimony

A Republican-led congressional committee sent a letter Monday to Attorney General Pam Bondi re-upping its referral of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for prosecution, accusing him of lying during testimony before the panel as it was investigating the pandemic. 

The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., had referred its accusations regarding Cuomo to the Department of Justice last year under the Biden administration. The DOJ, then led by Merrick Garland, did not publicly respond to the committee’s referral.

In it, the committee accuses Cuomo of lying when he testified that he was not involved in the review or drafting of a New York state Department of Health report that rebutted criticisms of his administration’s handling of the crisis. It points to evidence that the committee alleges demonstrates that he reviewed, edited and drafted portions of the report that was supposed to be an independent analysis of his administration’s performance. 

“Let’s be clear: lying to Congress is a federal crime. Mr. 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,” Comer said in a statement. 

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi dismissed Comer's letter as "nonsense."

"This is nothing more than a meritless press release that was nonsense last year and is even more so now. As the DOJ constantly reminds people, this kind of transparent attempt at election interference and law-fare violates their own policies," Azzopardi said in a statement. "Referrals like these — which have been also made against Planned Parenthood, Hillary Clinton and Anthony Fauci — don’t have to be resubmitted with a new administration, so the only point to doing this is politics."

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A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment.

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The renewed request from Comer comes as Cuomo is attempting to resurrect his political career. Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 in the wake of multiple sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied, is now seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York.

The incumbent, Eric Adams, elected as a Democrat, announced this month that he was running for re-election as an independent one day after a federal judge dismissed corruption charges against him.

In a memo moving to dismiss the charges, Emil Bove, then the acting U.S. deputy attorney general, argued the indictment against Adams in September was too close to the June mayoral primary and would hinder his ability to help President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.