The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York and current frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race, according to a
source familiar with the matter. The probe stems from a referral by congressional Republicans who allege Cuomo misled lawmakers during an inquiry into his administration’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis.
This new investigation follows a previous GOP request to the Biden administration that did not lead to any action. It also comes shortly after the Justice Department ended a separate corruption case involving current NYC Mayor Eric Adams, another contender in the mayoral race. That decision reportedly caused unrest within the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office, where prosecutors had opposed dropping the charges. Adams, in contrast to Cuomo, has voiced support for Trump-era immigration policies.
The DOJ has declined to publicly comment on the Cuomo case, first reported by The New York Times.
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said the former governor’s team had not been notified of any investigation and criticized the timing as politically motivated.
“We’ve never been told about any such investigation — so why leak it now?” Azzopardi asked in a statement. “This is clearly lawfare and election interference, exactly what President Trump and his Justice Department officials claim to oppose. Governor Cuomo testified truthfully to the best of his memory about events that happened four years ago and offered to cooperate further. This entire process has been obviously political from the start.”
A Justice Department official defended the actions involving both Adams and Cuomo, asserting that the department is committed to impartial justice: “This DOJ has put an end to the weaponization of government. We will continue to follow the facts in every case to ensure equal justice for all.”
Cuomo’s political future has been in flux since he resigned as governor in 2021 following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct — charges he has consistently denied. An investigation led by New York Attorney General Letitia James found Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women. James herself is now reportedly under federal investigation by the Trump administration.
The current DOJ probe follows an April referral by House Oversight Chair James Comer, who accused Cuomo of misleading Congress about his role in crafting a June 2020 state report that significantly undercounted nursing home deaths during the pandemic. A prior referral by a GOP-led Covid oversight panel in 2023 did not trigger an investigation.
James’ 2021 report concluded that Cuomo’s administration undercounted nursing home fatalities by as much as 50% by excluding residents who died after being transferred to hospitals. A separate 2022 audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found roughly 4,100 such deaths went unreported between April 2020 and February 2021.
CNN’s KFile also reviewed Cuomo’s spring 2020 press briefings and found that he often downplayed delays in reporting nursing home data while defending his administration’s handling of the crisis.
Cuomo has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In October, his legal team submitted its own referral to the DOJ, accusing the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic of abusing its power.
At the time, Azzopardi criticized the committee’s conduct: “This was a pre-election MAGA stunt. They deliberately acted unethically to help their political allies score cheap points.” Photo by Pat Arnow, Wikimedia commons.
