(Reuters) – A Republican-led U.S. House subcommittee plans to refer former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, to the Justice Department for possible prosecution for allegedly lying to Congress, the New York Times and other outlets reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper reported that the referral letter from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic would be sent to the Justice Department on Thursday.
The letter was not signed by the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, a sign of potential partisanship in the referral, the newspaper reported.
Criminal referrals from congressional panels are mostly symbolic; the Justice Department prosecutes cases at its discretion.
Lawyers representing Cuomo sent a letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday requesting an investigation into the subcommittee for potential abuse of power, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by Reuters.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo, wrote in an email to Reuters that the subcommittee’s referral was a “taxpayer-funded farce” that is “an illegal use of Congress’ investigative authority.”
The subcommittee referral focuses on closed-door testimony Cuomo gave the panel earlier this year, according to the Times.
Azzopardi said that Cuomo told the committee he could not recall reviewing a New York state Health Department report on thousands of nursing home deaths during the pandemic, which deflected blame away from his government.
But the Times reported earlier this year that Cuomo had written portions of the report, citing emails and congressional documents.
Azzopardi said Cuomo does not dispute the authenticity of any emails or documents showing that he had, in fact, reviewed the report. But he stood by his testimony to the subcommittee that he didn’t recall providing input on the document prepared four years prior to his testimony.
In July 2021, the U.S. Justice Department decided not to open a civil rights investigation into nursing homes in New York and two other states regarding their COVID-19 response.
In August 2021, Cuomo resigned when a report from state Attorney General Letitia James accused him of sexual harassment and other transgressions.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department agreed with a finding by James that Cuomo violated federal law by sexually harassing female employees and retaliating against those who spoke out. Cuomo had denied the allegations.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by Neil Fullick)
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