ALBANY, N.Y. — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo may have tried to “improperly influence” a former aide’s testimony before speaking to a House of Representatives panel investigating his administration’s Covid-19 policies, it has emerged from a Republican-backed report.
Cuomo, a Democrat weighing a bid for mayor of New York City, reached out to former adviser Jim Malatras days before he was scheduled to speak to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
“Now that the dust has settled and the truth is being revealed, I wanted to reach out to you to see how you are doing,” Cuomo wrote in a text message to Malatras. “I’m sure you’re doing well, because quality and talent always win in the end. All the best, André.”
The former governor urged his text message to Malatras. His first contact in three years was a simple check-in with a former staffer. But the Republican Party-led panel found in a 557-page report released Monday that Cuomo “acted in a manner consistent with an attempt” to influence Malatras’ testimony.
“Given the timing of this text message – within 48 hours after the Select Subcommittee publicly announced its request for Dr. Malatras had announced – and the fact that he had not spoken to former Governor Cuomo since 2021, the Select Subcommittee concluded: …this text message raises concerns that Mr. Cuomo may have attempted to influence Dr. Malatras’ testimony and obstructing the Select Subcommittee’s investigation,” the report said.
Malatras’ testimony before the House panel was seen as particularly important: Lawmakers at the time were reviewing Cuomo’s pandemic nursing home policy and the decision to require that the facilities not turn away patients who were Covid-positive. The panel also examined how the Cuomo administration prepared a report on nursing home deaths — a report that Malatras played a key role in drafting — and whether government officials had undercounted the number of fatalities.
A subcommittee memo in September previously detailed the text message to Malatras. Cuomo’s team on Monday described the panel’s findings as politically motivated.
“This attempt to misinterpret the Governor’s communications with a longtime former aide is more of the same from this MAGA clown commission, which has a documented history of misrepresenting the truth and lying to the press – the fact is that the Governor and Mr. Malatras spoke only after both had testified out of respect for the work of the subcommittee, a communication that is entirely permissible and appropriate,” said Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi.
He added that the report as a whole is “weak pap,” a waste of taxpayers’ money and an abuse of power. Azzopardi noted that previous investigations into Cuomo’s Covid response did not lead to charges, while a civil suit filed by relatives of people who died in nursing homes was dismissed.
“The DOJ – three times – the Manhattan District Attorney and others looked into the nursing home issue and found no wrongdoing, while the meritless civil lawsuit filed by the very same people who worked closely with this commission was thrown out of court, he said. “Despite being COVID ‘ground zero,’ an objective review of federal data shows that New York ranked 39th in prorated nursing home deaths in 2020.”
In his testimony, Malatras told the subcommittee that the nursing home report was reviewed and edited by top aides and Cuomo, with input from Department of Health officials. Cuomo had claimed he had no role in editing or writing the report. Subsequent reviews found that the report had undercounted the number of residents who had died.
The release of the House report comes at a politically sensitive time for Cuomo as he considers a run for mayor of New York City while incumbent Eric Adams fights corruption allegations.
House Republicans on the panel in October released a 107-page referral to the Justice Department alleging that Cuomo made false statements to Congress and recommended criminal charges.
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing, and such cases are rarely heard by the DOJ.
Democrats on the subcommittee, meanwhile, also rejected the Republicans’ findings, though they did not defend Cuomo by name.
“The Select Subcommittee on Republicans’ final report reflects two years wasted on political stunts instead of preventing and preparing for the next pandemic,” Democrats on the panel said in a statement. “Rather than working with Democrats to get ahead of future viruses or strengthen America’s public health infrastructure and workforce, Select Subcommittee Republicans prioritized extreme investigations that vilified our nation’s scientists and public health officials in an effort to prevent the disastrous Condoning Former President Trump’s COVID-19 Response.”
