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Report: New York Gov. Cuomo under investigation by over nursing home deaths

18 February 2021
 Dan Ackermann

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration is under investigation by the FBI and U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn over its handling of COVID-19 nursing home deaths, the Albany Times-Union first reported Wednesday.

Why it matters: The news comes as N.Y. state lawmakers begin efforts to repeal the Democratic governor's pandemic emergency powers after it was revealed his administration delayed releasing data of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, prompting allegations of a cover-up.

The big picture: The New York Post obtained audio of a Cuomo aide saying a request for the nursing homes data was rejected because it could "be used against us" by federal investigators encouraged by then-President Trump.

  • Cuomo was widely praised for his coronavirus response early in the pandemic, but now the New York Senate is expected to vote on stripping Cuomo of his emergency powers as early as next week, per the New York Times.
  • New York's Democratic Attorney General Letitia James released a report last month accusing his administration of undercounting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by up to 50%.

Of note: New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim (D) said earlier Wednesday that Cuomo threatened to "destroy" him over comments he made about the nursing home deaths scandal.

What saying: When asked about the investigation, Richard Azzopardi, senior adviser to Cuomo, told Axios: "As we publicly said, the DOJ has been looking into this for months. We have been cooperating with them and we will continue to."

  • Cuomo said last Monday took responsibility for his administration's delay in releasing data of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, But he added: "There’s nothing to investigate here."
  • The FBI and Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.