NEW YORK — A New York City councilman is calling for an investigation into Dr. Jay Varma, New York City’s former senior health adviser, after he admitted to flouting COVID-19 policies he imposed on New Yorkers.
Varma said Friday that he attended sex parties and a dance party at the height of the pandemic, while telling New Yorkers to stay away from others to stop the spread of the coronavirus. His admission comes after a heavily edited video surfaced.
Councilman Robert Holden wants his actions investigated.
Dr. Jay Varma says he was ‘targeted’ in hidden video
While Varma wanted New Yorkers to strictly adhere to social distancing, he now admits he didn’t. The mea culpa came after he was caught in a hidden video posted by conservative podcaster Steven Crowder.
A spokesperson for Varma told CBS News New York that while he held the city post, he and his wife had two sex parties at a hotel with friends — one in August 2020, the other November 2020.
The spokesman also said his client attended a dance party with about 200 people under a Wall Street bank in June 2021. At the time, he had left his full-time employment with the city and was working as a consultant.
In the video, Varma also boasted about help implement mandatory vaccination rules That prevented Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving from playing basketball after he refused to get the shot.
In a statement, Varma said:
“Unfortunately, I was targeted by an operative from a far-right organization determined to smear public health officials and destroy the public health system in America. This individual has been heavily discredited and banned from various media outlets for his homophobic slurs and racist tirades.
“In those private conversations that were secretly recorded, spliced, chopped up, and taken out of context, I referred to events that occurred four years ago. I served in City Hall from April 2020 to May 2021. During that time, I participated in two private meetings. I take responsibility for not exercising my best judgment at that time.
“Faced with the greatest public health crisis in a century, our top priority was to save lives, and every decision made was based on the best available science to keep New Yorkers safe. I stand behind my efforts to vaccinate New Yorkers against COVID-19, and I reject dangerous extremist efforts to undermine public confidence in the necessity and effectiveness of vaccines.”
NYC Councilman Calls for Investigation
Holden is calling on state and federal prosecutors to get involved.
“That guy has no shame. It’s disgusting,” he said. “This is a very serious thing that’s going on and was going on, and so — what did he do differently? What did he say differently? What should we have done differently?”
Holden also wants a full-scale investigation by the city council, with Varma called to testify.
