Elise Stefanik Calls For Gov Cuomo and His Team to Be ‘Prosecuted Immediately’ Over Nursing Home Scandal

U.S. House Rep Elise Stefanik (R-NY) issued a statement tonight calling for immediate prosecution after it was reported that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s top aide privately apologized to Democratic lawmakers for withholding the state’s nursing-home death toll from COVID-19.

The aide, Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa, told them “we froze” out of fear the true numbers would “be used against us” by federal prosecutors.

According to an audio recording of the two-hour-plus meeting, the stunning admission of a cover-up was made during a video conference call with state Democratic leaders in which she said the Cuomo administration had rebuffed a legislative request for the tally in August because “right around the same time, [then-President Donald Trump] turns this into a giant political football.”

Stefanik began her statement by saying, “Governor Cuomo, the Secretary to the Governor, and his senior team must be prosecuted immediately – both by the Attorney General of New York State and the Department of Justice.”

“This bombshell admission of a coverup and the remarks by the Secretary to the Governor indicating intent to obstruct any federal investigation is a stunning and criminal abuse of power,” Stefanik continued.

Stefanik expounded, “I have said from the beginning that this is more than than a nursing home scandal, this is a massive corruption and coverup scandal at the highest level of New York State Government implicating” Cuomo on down.

Looking ahead, Stefanik said, “Tomorrow, Governor Cuomo intends to meet with President Joe Biden. It is the responsibility of the President to ensure the independence of the Department of Justice.”

“After the self-implicating admission by Governor Cuomo and his staff, it is clear to every American that this investigation must go forward,” Stefanik concluded.

🚨🚨 My Statement on the bombshell @nypost reporting on Cuomo’s cover-up 🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/brOrGZjeBo

— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) February 12, 2021

A recent article suggested that Stefanik would do the best in a speculative race against the governor, even compared to Democrats, although she likely wouldn’t win and that results show 49% of voters would prefer Cuomo, to 37% who would support Stefanik.