The chairman of a congressional committee investigating the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday subpoenaed New York's Democratic governor, Kathy Hockle, for withholding key documents about nursing home deaths in the state.
Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, said: Summon They have demanded that the New York State Executive Commission (now led by Hoekl) release documents regarding former New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on nursing homes. press release.
On November 6, 2023, the Subcommittee requested the New York City Council produce significant records regarding decisions to admit COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes. letter “To Mr. Hoklu. Despite the promise of full transparency, the investigation has been severely hampered by failure to provide requested documents, for which the Executive alone bears responsibility.”
Americans have not forgotten Andrew Cuomo's deadly response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He forced nursing homes to accept positive Covid patients and is responsible for the deaths of New York's most vulnerable population!
He didn't “follow the science” but rather… pic.twitter.com/cHP2l6TLFo
— Ronny Jackson (@RepRonnyJackson) September 10, 2024
Wenstrup's subpoena included several previously undisclosed documents, including a series of emails from April and May 2020 titled “Proposed Nursing Home Plan,” as well as communications regarding a May 11, 2020 directive requiring nursing home residents to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test before admission or re-admission, the press release noted. (Related: New York Attorney General says at least 4,000 people died after Governor Cuomo's nursing home order)
The Executive Directorate only revealed that certain relevant documents were deliberately concealed after providing all other materials to the subcommittee, the letter said.
The announcement was made during Governor Cuomo's hearing, where evidence was presented highlighting the New York State Executive Branch's repeated failure to provide documentation. The New York State Executive Branch's efforts to avoid transparency have escalated since May 2023, initially shifting the blame to the New York State Department of Health, the press release added.
Subsequent actions included the production of hundreds of thousands of documents, many of which were incomplete, heavily redacted or already publicly available, according to the press release. The privilege log containing the allegedly unjustified allegations was produced only after a specific request from the subcommittee.
Hoekl's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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