FBI Launches Investigation Into Nursing Home Deaths In New York
And in Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has threatened to take away coronavirus vaccines from communities that criticize his distribution efforts.
The U.S. attorney in Brooklyn and the FBI have begun a preliminary investigation into the way New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo鈥檚 administration handled data about Covid-19 nursing home deaths. After early praise for his leadership when his state became the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, the governor is now dealing with accusations of underreporting nursing home deaths. (Dienst and Valiquette, 2/17)
State records released last week show that the death toll for long-term-care facilities is more than 15,000. That is about 50% higher than earlier reports, which didn鈥檛 include more than 5,600 facility residents who died in hospitals. Melissa DeRosa, Mr. Cuomo鈥檚 top aide, told state lawmakers last week that the state Health Department held back the fuller tally because of its fear that it would be politicized by the administration of then-President Donald Trump. (Vielkind, 2/18)
The Democratic leaders of the New York State Senate are moving to strip Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of unilateral emergency powers granted during the pandemic, setting up a remarkable rebuke for the governor from members of his own party. The Senate鈥檚 measures, which could be voted on as soon as next week, underscore the deepening division between Mr. Cuomo and state lawmakers since the governor admitted to intentionally withholding critical data on virus-related deaths from the Legislature. (McKinley and Ferre-Sadurni, 2/17)
Fallout over New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo鈥檚 handling of nursing home coronavirus data worsened Wednesday as a critical state legislator 鈥 a fellow Democrat 鈥 accused the governor of threatening to 鈥渄estroy鈥 him during an angry call. New York Assemblyman Ron Kim said the governor ordered him in a call last Thursday to backtrack in defense of a top Cuomo aide whose leaked comments on nursing home data sparked a bipartisan furor. An adviser to Cuomo (D) said Wednesday that Kim was 鈥渓ying鈥 about the conversation. The governor also lashed out at Kim during a news conference, saying the lawmaker has a 鈥渓ong and hostile relationship鈥 with his office. (Knowles and Barrett, 2/18)
