New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo became a celebrity during 2020's COVID-19 pandemic, appearing often and for extended periods on television delivering long soliloquys about what he was doing to battle the Chinese virus, and what others should be doing.
Now the celebrity status has gained some tarnish, and officials at both the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office are investigating him for his handling of nursing homes during the crises, according to reports.
At the height of the disaster, he issued orders that required nursing homes to take patients being released from hospitals, even if they had tested positive, and could carry coronavirus back into susceptible populations of elderly.
Insider even reported that Democrats in his own state are working to strip him of the emergency powers he was granted just last year.
He's also facing accusations that his administration withheld data on COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes to avoid federal review, the report said.
Local news organizations have confirmed that the FBI and the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York are review Cuomo's activities.
Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for the governor, explained the office has been cooperating with the DOJ, and "we will continue to."
Complicating matters at the state level is the accusation from Assemblyman Ron Kim that the governor called him and threatened to "destroy" him if he didn't "cover" for the government, according to CNN.
In a conference call with reporters, Cuomo blamed his troubles on a conspiracy against him from President Trump, Fox News and the New York Post.
NBC said in recent days it's been revealed that there were 15,000 deaths of long-term care patients in the state from COVID. Only 8,500 had been reported previously.
Only last week, Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa confirmed the state "held off" releasing the full death count last fall over fears President Trump would use the information against Cuomo.
In his own defense this week, Cuomo said, "In retrospect, should we have given more priority to fulfilling information requests? In my opinion, yes. And that's what created the void. I just want to make sure people know these are the facts: Everything that could have been done was done."
ABC reported prosecutors have issued subpoenas in their investigation.
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