DOJ must probe Gov. Cuomo's handling of COVID nursing home crisis without interference: Rep. Malliotakis

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Malliotakis says her constituents 'have had enough' with Gov. Cuomo's 'hypocrisy'

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis called for the Department of Justice to investigate Gov. Andrew Cuomo in order to provide "accountability" for what led to his administration’s directive to accept COVID positive patients into nursing homes.

During an appearance on "Fox News @ Night", Malliotakis urged for an inquiry initiated last October to continue without "interference" from the Biden administration and to subpoena records and communications related to the March 25th directive.

Malliotakis noted that people in her district "have really had enough of the double standards and hypocrisy" of Gov. Cuomo, especially after newly released documents indicated that his administration underreported nursing home deaths by roughly 50%.

Last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the Justice Department will decide how to proceed on the matter "independently" of any input from the White House.

REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS: CUOMO'S INDOOR DINING RESTRICTIONS ARE 'DISCRIMINATING AGAINST NEWYORK CITY'

NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS: "The people that I speak to in my district of Staten Island and southern Brooklyn have really had enough of the double standards and the hypocrisy of our governor and the lack of accountability. Look, we saw thousands of individuals pass away, sadly, in our nursing homes due to an executive order that he put in place March 25th, that mandated these nursing homes, whether they could care for them or not, to accept COVID-positive patients...

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And then even despite the fact that the president sent in the U.S. Navy Comfort ship, the Javits Center was set up and other facilities were set up as emergency hospital settings to accept COVID-positive patients, he continued that executive order. And now we learned that his administration underreported nursing home deaths by thousands of individuals and roughly 50 percent. And so people do want accountability and they do want answers. And that is what I've been pushing for since May...

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In October, the Department of Justice announced that it was administering an inquiry into the way that this Cuomo administration had handled the nursing homes. And really, I'm hoping that that inquiry continues, that investigation continues without any interference from the Biden administration as you continue to operate independently.

We are urging them to subpoena the records, the communication. What led to the decision of that March 25th directive? I think that's one of the main questions New Yorkers had. And why did you continue it even after these other options were set up to accept those COVID-positive patients so you wouldn't have to put them with the most vulnerable? So I think at this point is really up to the Department of Justice to do its independent investigation without any interference."