A Republican-led congressional committee sent a letter Monday to Attorney General Pam Bondi re-upping its referral of former New York Gov. Andrew Coumo for prosecution, accusing him of lying during testimony before the panel as it was investigating the pandemic.
The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., had referred its accusations regarding Cuomo to the Department of Justice last year under the Biden administration. The DOJ, then led by Merrick Garland, did not publicly respond to the committee’s referral.
In it, the committee accuses Cuomo of lying when he testified that he was not involved in the review or drafting of a New York state Department of Health report that rebutted criticisms of his administration’s handling of the crisis. It points to evidence that the committee alleges demonstrates that he reviewed, edited and drafted portions of the report that was supposed to be an independent analysis of his administration’s performance.
“Let’s be clear: lying to Congress is a federal crime. Mr. Cuomo must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The House Oversight Committee is prepared to fully cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation into Andrew Cuomo’s actions and ensure he’s held to account,” Comer said in a statement.
NBC News has reached out to a spokesman for Cuomo for comment. At the time of the initial criminal referral in October, a spokesman for Cuomo called the committee’s actions a “taxpayer-funded farce.”
The renewed request from Comer comes as Cuomo is attempting to resurrect his political career. Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 in the wake of multiple sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied, is now seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York.
The incumbent, Eric Adams, elected as a Democrat, announced this month that he was running for re-election as an independent one day after a federal judge dismissed corruption charges against him.
In a memo moving to dismiss the charges, Emil Bove, then the acting U.S. deputy attorney general, argued the indictment against Adams last September was too close to the June 2025 mayoral prim and would hinder his ability to help President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
