All the questions Andrew Cuomo will be asked by House Covid-19 panel over his handling of pandemic in NY
WASHINGTON, DC: In preparation for questioning former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo about the epidemic, a congressional panel looking into Covid-19 visited the families of nursing home residents in New York who died during the shutdown, as per the New York Post.
Peter Arbeeny, whose father Norman died from the coronavirus pandemic after being discharged from a Brooklyn nursing facility, provided a comprehensive 121-page timeline to members of the Republican-led subcommittee on the pandemic.
Scathing document reveals Cuomo and his administration’s decisions and alleged coverups
The scathing report, which can be seen on the website wecarewall.com, alleges that Covid-related deaths in nursing homes were caused by the actions and purported cover-ups of Cuomo and his administration.
Notably, Cuomo is being questioned by congressional investigators for the first time formally, although in a transcripted session held behind closed doors.
Arbeeny, who met recently with House investigators, mentions in the document, "Keeping track of Governor Cuomo’s multitude of lies, manipulations, and misdeeds can be overwhelming."
The timeline's introduction stated "the now infamous [Cuomo] $5.2 million book deal was the black cloud hovering over the New York Nursing Home Scandal and the driving force of corruption, greed, and betrayal at the highest level of State government."
Notably, the Covid-19 panel interviewed additional victims' families and state ethics authorities involved in the incident. Among its members is Rep Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn).
Last week, the panel interviewed Dr Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Malliotakis said, "For nearly four years, Governor Cuomo has stonewalled our Committee as we seek to prevent the next pandemic, improve the government’s preparedness and response plans, and gather answers for families who lost elderly loved ones because of his order forcing nursing homes to positive accept positive patients even if they could not care for them."
Questions that Andrew Cuomo might encounter from House Covid-19 panel
According to Malliotakis and Arbeeny as well as other sources the panel consulted, there are a few questions that will definitely be asked.
A question that will be asked will be regarding "the infamous March 25, 2020 edict directing nursing homes to accept positive COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals: Whose idea was it, who created it and why did it remain in place for 6 weeks when it was clear the virus spread through nursing homes?"
Another question that could be raised is: "Why were emergency hospitals such as the Javits Center and USS Comfort, which had thousands of emergency beds, under-utilized?"
Another question likely to be asked is: 'Why did Cuomo decide to write a $5 million profit-making book about his response to Covid-19 in the middle of the pandemic while thousands of New Yorkers were dying?'
Other questions that may pop up are: "Did the decision to write a book impact the governor’s decisions to make him look better?" and "Why did you substantially undercount or mislead the public about nursing home residents who died from Covid-19?"
The panel also spoke with state ethics authorities tasked with examining the contentious book deal and Bill Hammond, senior fellow for health policy at the Empire Center for Public Policy, who published scathing findings on the Cuomo administration's conduct.
