House Committee Hearing Today | Andrew Cuomo Grilled On Covid Hunger Games Live | News18 | N18G

you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC of official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr quomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't ADM them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to Adit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have 19 they can't do that according to this letter can they look and I I agree with my colleague here M green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't now recognize gentl time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and what the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to be begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that had some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing him in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at the this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very test tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we used them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to B basally back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jur that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many States reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my Rec not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directed followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor quomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes no I don't know if the Department of Health issu you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you Governor comoo did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that do Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintain testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CD D guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsdc and do excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General ained legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 2 fth order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was sueded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were ask about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follows did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time sake Governor to return to the well why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6th 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was for medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6 report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stepanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wre today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself self and as most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuk served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor CUO from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr Zucker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are family sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize which you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more Americans die any GL you're the former Governor disra president lie to the people of order was under your name it was counter to CDC and CMS president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor they deserve to hear from you in the ey that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths and nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th Paul politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thinking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to recogniz gentl time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know what they positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that had some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very tast test that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we Ed them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that Lo lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residence the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state Bes I jur that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other state states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or c CC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive okay to the best of my recollection not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated C Ms guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the inter Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisor did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adher to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with C DC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr crma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes would not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the dired followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CN Ms guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic B Bas on that law thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health ISS you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not M representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsc do excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry it I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it' been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follow did you ask questions after you learned learned about the director after I learned about it yes I asked question give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical the theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer- reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was it was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July six report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by governor quomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reput ations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zer testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staffer at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you todaying a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why you're the former Governor dis pres lie to the people ex was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS president Trump lie this is about those seniors Governor they deserve hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you are negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield back [Applause] thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump in his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 20120 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over yeah you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that president Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's what it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive postive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a th beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't now recognized gent time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh covid hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young nonvulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC dooh will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very T tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patience just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think it would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance youve also claim that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters did speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my Rec not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the attorney general conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentator she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr crma you're a lawyer so you know know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using the using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claim that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that law thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I will you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything what because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection-based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsc and do excuse me said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason I haven't used it in years did you communicate ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek okay this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump follow did you ask questions after you learned about the director after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time sake Governor to return to the email why did you director staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a govern report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was it was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6th report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you asked the agency for a report on the and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the cmsn CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and den ated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staffer at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr Zucker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff were you negotiating for your multi-million ADV deal your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do you do it this is not about political theater it's about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more are you're the former Governor who disra presid lie to the people executive order was under you your name it was countered to CDC and CMS president Trump lie this is about those seniors Governor they deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you are negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a Grace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents par s and great grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have theity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too Congress woman that's right and you don't admit them that's what it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says cmcc says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have co9 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can they can look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stabl to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quaran them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that had some questionable results on this co uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC dooh will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very tast tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think it would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state beside jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive are the depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance youve also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my record not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr debor Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have trans Mission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the Co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you got Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advis thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the app able science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything what because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which had has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection-based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmised because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testify us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS G you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both CMS excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance you stand by and you say it followed guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive sist sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive an error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek okay this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follow did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I report I'm sure the executive chamber was it was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not pure reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6 report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zuker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zuker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zuker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation and end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staffer at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr Zucker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you todaying a question that ask the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million doll Advanced deal forear book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you also you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more Americans die than any country the glob you're the former Governor president lie executive order was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor they deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you are negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorist do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over yeah you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the jav Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who is now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's what it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says cmcc says you can can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left nework York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't now recognize gentl time has expired and now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh covid hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seeing patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the Young vulnerable population but you don't allow it are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home it's going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very T tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we used them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment is better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those family say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharged people said say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know what I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we're testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residence the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted resident residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters speak to them about the directive before hand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my record not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr crma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directed followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that law thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't you didn't even called to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health is Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you Governor Cuomo did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advis which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS guid you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both CC and do excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General ained legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and so you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was sueded later on I'm sorry it I didn't mean to interrup it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or black yes didn't M you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive an error no this was tongue that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump follows did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked question give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6th report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for report on and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vble seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bip partis investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work and professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staffer at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr Zucker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain co9 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that ask the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar Advan deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more Americans die than any country the GL you're the former Governor disra presid lie to the people executive order was under your name it was counter to CDC and CMS president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor they deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes Mur murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over yeah you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for help helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't that's he says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital hospital ship that had a th000 beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize G time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr Cor as you know I'm an ER physician served during the pandemic the entire time seeing patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurs Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and what the ADV not I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quartin them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into resturants or put a mask on or whatever the young nonvulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder what where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very T tests that were tested on your family young health people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we used them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment is better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think it would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those family say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know what I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we're testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residence the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or re admitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other State Bes I jur that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and test testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my record not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept any one it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that law thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered question and I said did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you Governor Cuomo did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS guid you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both C and excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General ained legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be super eded by executive order was this because it was sueded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people were returned to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive an error no this was tongue that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the director when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump follows did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss ter minating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6th report so this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residence that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones of amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work and professional M you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zuker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the Govern 's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that ask the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to recall absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advaned deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home Debs you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more Americans die than any the GL you're the former Governor dis president lie to the people executive order was under your name it was counter to CDC and CMS president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor they deser to hear from you in the you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directs on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents Grand Grand parents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr quom let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a chines spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's what it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they can look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize time is expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served during the pandemic the entire time seen patience I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stabl to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this co uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC dooh will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very test tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we used them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test a very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think it would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or re admit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state beside jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a danger misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claim that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the D directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters did you speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my Rec not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CM Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using the using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that La thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection-based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would AG agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 20120 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both C excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General ained legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance you stand by and you say it follow Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive sistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek okay this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follow did you ask questions after you learned about the director after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer- reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6th report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to C Ms and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor CUO from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize which you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more americ you're the former Governor who disra presid lie to the people executive order was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS let president Trump lie this is about those seniors governor they deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you are negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorist do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff the St but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't Adit that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter can they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't now recognize gentl time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurs Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very test tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk popul potion not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think it would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state beside jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you have also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't believe speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my record not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that Place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah the word sh and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using the using it's my excuse me he's using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you governor did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak Ms about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection-based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr bks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testify us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsc excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was sueded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive sist sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it last the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive an error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follows did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time sight Governor to return the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6 report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stepanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor k from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staffer at the Department of Health testified that the March th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zuker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and under account the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you also you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are family sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize which you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more Americans die any GL you're the former Governor disra president lie to the people EX order was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS president Trump this is about those seniors Governor they deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you are negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30 of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths and nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thank China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually an appropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of him you don't have to Adit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't do now recognize gentlem time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or killing anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the Nur Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stabl to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very tast test that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we Ed them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment is better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are the highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes ad admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state beside jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive Lang anguage I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you have also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive okay to the best of my recol not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the inter Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows C CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that law thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you Governor comoo did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay depart Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guid is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shallon must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March Mar 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS guid you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsc and do excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General ained legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June Jun une 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek okay this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I Governor you test ified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follows did you ask questions after learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it it was a govern report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6 report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stepanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor CUO from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staffer at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you todaying a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for years book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you also you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are family sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans die why did more Americans any country GL you're the former Governor disra presid lie to the people EX order was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS president Trump lie this is about those seniors Governor deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you are negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield back [Applause] thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over yeah you also blamed staff for spreading Co in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit that's what it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CM CDC says you can accept a CO positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize gentl time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important covid hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seing patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurs Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically able to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into covid those very T tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patience just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residence the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my recollection not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the interne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican comment Ator she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using the using it's my excuse me using the word Shon must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that law thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question thank you not even even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testify to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor Cuomo do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsc and do excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follows did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer-reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor you stand by the July 6th report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital associ ation called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the teson I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your St under the you are cul for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million doll Advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more any you're the former Governor disra presid lie to the people executive order was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor deserve hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents Grand Grand parents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr quoma let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opport to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize G time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Gomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically sta to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and what the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I had Adit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this co uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in the nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very tast tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we used them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment is better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct ctor going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or re admit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jur that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a danger misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claim that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the dirve beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my Rec not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deber Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr crma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using the using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the dired followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that La thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testify us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor Cuomo do you stand by the March 25th 20120 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both C excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded lat I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive sistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follows did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6 report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to cm and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor CUO from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zuker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize which you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more am you're the former Governor disra presid lie to the people executive order was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS let president Trump lie this is about those seniors governor they deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorist do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what but your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't ADM that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize gentlemen's time has expired now recognize Dr McCormick from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting Co testing before placing him in the nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very test test that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we used them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment is better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk popul not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at the highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jur that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't believe speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my Rec not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that Place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directed followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you governor did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak M about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both CMS CDC and excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it last the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive an error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follows did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Comm Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer- reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6th report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former governor from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 20 fth order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr Zucker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and under count the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are family sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize which you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more Americans die any you're the former Governor disra president lie to the people order was under your name it was counter to CDC and CS president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor they deser to hear from you in the ey that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump in his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30 of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths and nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually an appropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of him you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize gentlem time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very test test that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we Ed them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment is better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol Co yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are the highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes ad ad MIT or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jur that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive langage anguage I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive okay to the best of my recollection not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the inter Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr crma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the dired followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows C C Ms guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that law thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the word shallon must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsc and do excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I Governor you testif that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it' been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follows did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked question give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 20120 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a govern report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was it was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the jully six report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and as most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded rep reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr Zer testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the cover up this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking you question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you todaying a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you also you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize which you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans die why did more Amic any you're the former Governor dis presid lie to the people exorder was under your name it was counter to CDC and CMS let president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor hear from you in the ey that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield back [Applause] thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump in his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over yeah you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that president Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CM CDC says you can accept a CO positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize gentl time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr cor as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seing patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurs Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know that they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake AK the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very T tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patience just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we Ed them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think it would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jur that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you we've also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my recol not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the interne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the covid diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican comment Ator she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if Nur nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr cruma you're a lawyer is you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using the using it's my excuse me using the word Shon must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directed followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that law thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection-based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS guard you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both CMC and excuse me said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 20120 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer it I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it' been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follow did you ask questions after you learned about the director after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer-reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a govern report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was it was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do stand by the July 6th report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and integrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital associate called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million Advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize which you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more you're the former Governor who disra presid lie to the people executive order was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor they deserve hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million doll book deal it is disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents Grand parents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's what it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr cor as you know I'm an ER physician served during the pandemic the entire time seen patience I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse gnomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I ad a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can corain them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that had some questionable results on this co uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC dooh will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in the nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very tast tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct V going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state beside jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive are depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance youve also claim that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the direct beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my Rec not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Debra Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr crma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the dired followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that La thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you Governor Pomo did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection-based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both C excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General ained legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad pressure and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 you're executive sistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer it I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it' been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follow did you ask questions after you learned about the directive after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was it was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6th report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel the the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zuker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the test testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of ing nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home Debs you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more Americans you're the former Governor who disra presid lie to the people executive order was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS let president Trump lie this is about those seniors governor they deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you are negotiating for a multi-million doll book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't Adit them but that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize gentlemen's time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC dooh will still defend this order prohibiting Co testing before placing him in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very test test that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we Ed them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment is better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think it would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state beside jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance youve also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforeand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't believe speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my record not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that Place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah the word shall must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys you yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you governor did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to C M about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection-based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Bur was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS guid you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsdc and the excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General ained legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it last as the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer it I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it' been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follow did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the commission commer of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't no it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6 report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stepanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and as most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr Zer served as your Commissioner of health during the co crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 2th fifth order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr Zucker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you also you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are family sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more Americans die any GL you're the former Governor who dis president lie to the people order was under your name it was counter to CDC and CS president Trump this is about those seniors Governor they deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you are negotiating for a multi-million doll book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump in his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths and nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thinking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually in appropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them but that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to Adit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize gentlem time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important covid hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know whe they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die and if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC dooh will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very test test that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes ADM or readmit residence the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language which I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance youve also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't you speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive okay to the best of my Rec not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the inter Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advis advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adher to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes would not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows C Ms guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that law thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shallon must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS guidance you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsc and excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General ained legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it' been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follow did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked question give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 20120 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a govern report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was it was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July six report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of government Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by governor quomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and as most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded rep reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zuker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr ER testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staffer at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr Zucker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the cover up this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking you question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you todaying a question that question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you also you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are familyes sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more am any you're the former Governor dis presid lie to the people order was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS president Trump lie this is about those seniors Governor deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you are negotiating for a multi-million doll book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield back [Applause] thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump in his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 20120 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over yeah you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that president Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a CO positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't do now recogniz gentl time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important covid hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young nonvulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake St the uh looking back the CMS CDC dooh will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very T tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patience just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my recol not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the covid diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican comment Ator she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nurse n in homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr kumma you're a lawyer see you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using the using it's my excuse me using the word shallon must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claim that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that law thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection-based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintain testify us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS guid you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsc and excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 20120 your executive sistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it' been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simp simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follow did you ask questions after you learned about the director after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you director staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a govern report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was it was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6th report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the cmsn CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and den integrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staffer at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimon I'm refering to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff the you are cul for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million Advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize which you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more you're the former Governor who disra presid lie to the people executive order was under your name it was counter to CDC and CMS let president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor they deserve to hear from you in the ey that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandp parents and great grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have theity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff the but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize that time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served during the pandemic the entire time seen patience I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stabl to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and what the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I Adit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can Co them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's another question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that had some questionable results on this co uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in the nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very tast tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive are depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claim that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the director beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my Rec not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have trans transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the Co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directed followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you Governor homo did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the appable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testify us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both CMS excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and so you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive sist sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek okay this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it' been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follows did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6 report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working TI tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the test testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of count ing nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more Americans you're the former Governor who disra pres lie to the people executive order was under your name it was counter to CDC and CMS let president Trump lie this is about those seniors governor they deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC of official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr quomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't ADM them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have 19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to now recognize gent's time has expired now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr cor as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seing patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that had some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting Co testing before placing him in the nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very test tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment is better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jur that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that have been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so States reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance you've also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforeand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't believe to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my Rec not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah the word shall must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directed followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor cu did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor quomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said did you or not I said no I answered the question thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak cm has about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Bur was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintain testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and C DC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both CMS CDC and excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 5 th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts pass the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer I Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it' been issued when you were ask asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follows did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the commission of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time sake Governor to return to the Emil why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6th report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo self and as most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr Z served as your Commissioner of health during the co crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staffer at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr Zucker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you also you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are family sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more Americans die any GL you're the former Governor disra president lie to the people order was under your name it was counter to CDC and CS president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor they deserve to hear from you in the ey that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump in his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths and nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes with is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thinking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a thousand beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't to recogniz gentl time has expired I now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill any body however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that had some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very tast test that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think it would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residence the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state Bes I jurge that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance youve also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my recollection not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated C Ms guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the inter Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advis did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adher to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes would not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the dired followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows C Ms guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic B based on that La thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health ISS Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and mus permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both cmsc excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General ained legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7 2020 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate in other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes 10 messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer it I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simple I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follow did you ask questions after you learned about the direcor after I learned about it yes I asked question give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 20120 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a govern report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was it was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the jully six report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on the governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the CMS and CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and denigrated by governor quomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and as most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor and his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reput reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr Z ER testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself Governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there is a fact in what you said no I'm asking you question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you todaying a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff under the bus you are culpable for this my question to you is when were you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you also you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about this about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more any you're the former Governor disra presid lie to the people was under your name it was counter to CDC and CMS let president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor deserve hear from you in the ey that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million dollar book deal it is a disgrace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield back [Applause] thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump in his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 20120 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have the audacity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath there is video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that president Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're saying oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a CO POS positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a th beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't do now recogniz gent time has expired I now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh Co hearing and your leadership on this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served uh during the pandemic the entire time seen patients I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurs Nomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know that they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if can quarantine them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young nonvulnerable population but but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that has some questionable results on this covid uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC do will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very T tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patience just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct Vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't to very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that is wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were putting in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state besid jur that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance youve also claimed that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my Rec not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the interne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam whipster says that means only on the basis of the co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentator she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nurses in homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr crma you're a lawyer know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claim that the directed followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that La thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor CUO did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I will you asked that question and I answered the question and I said did you or not I said no I answered the question thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu you Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you governoro did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak CMS about 400 advisor thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection-based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both CMC excuse me said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General apped legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded on I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 20120 your executive assistant sent this email writing and I quote this is going to be the great debacle in the history books the longer it lasts the harder to correct we have a better argument than we made get a report on the facts because this Legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment also how many covid people will return to the nursing homes in that period how many nursing homes don't you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up Miss bitton is your executive assistant I believe she's sitting behind you did she write this email on your behalf yes Governor uh did you have an email account while you were governor no well I may have had one but I didn't use it okay is there a reason uh I haven't used it in years did you communicate nothing other ways with your staff text messages or Blackberry yes messages you did uh you just said that you stood by the directive but this email asked if it was time to admit error and give up was the March 25th directive and error no this was tongue and that the last line sir was tongue and cheek this was an ongoing raging political debate where the Republicans were saying uh March 25th caused deaths so I said answer it I understand Governor you testified that you were not aware of the directive until April 20th 2020 almost a month after it' been issued when you were asked about it at a press conference after you learned of the order did you have any concerns about the direcor when I was asked about it at the press conference uh I was not aware of it if I had been aware of it my answer would have been very simp Le I would have said it follow ask Donald Trump it follow did you ask questions after you learned about the director after I learned about it yes I asked questions give me some examples I was debriefed by the Commissioner of Health who said this is the theory of CMS and CDC and do uh that these people are no longer infectious did you ever discuss terminating or amending the directive after you learned of it when it was described to me that CDC CMS and do all thought this was a good idea and they had a medical theory behind it uh that these were non-infectious people etc for time's sake Governor to return to the email why did you direct your staff to get a report on the facts well just count of the newspaper story so so on July 6 2020 the Department of Health issued the report you requested was this report peer reviewed uh I don't know it was not was this report in a medical journal it was not it was a government report it was not for a medical journal was the executive chamber involved in the Drafting and editing of the report I'm sure the executive chamber was it was so you requested a report on the facts and you got a report that was not peer-reviewed not in a medical journal and drafted and edited by the very body accused of wrongdoing so governor do you stand by the July 6th report sir this is in real time we're acting an agency is taking an action you ask the agency for a report on and Governor my time has expired Mr chairman what what's clear is the governor was desperate to change the narrative uh to dispel of the notion that his administration failed nursing home residents that he that he failed to ask any questions and Governor I believe you failed to follow the facts and it's now clear that you should have done what your assistant suggested in the email and that was admitted error and given up if you believe the cmsn CDC were wrong then that would be your position stefanic from New York for five minutes of questions thank you chairman wstr today is long overdue and just as a reminder for the public tuning in we are here today on behalf of the over 15,000 vulnerable seniors in nursing homes who died because of Governor Cuomo's fatal executive order on March 25th damning them to this horrible fate including constituents in my district and every congressional district in New York state I also want to recognize the families and Advocates who have been working tirelessly on behalf of their loved ones amidst this grief who have been smeared attacked and den integrated by Governor Cuomo and his most senior AIDS let me begin first after months of inquiry and investigation we now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years that Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior AIDS ordered directed and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance our investigation also reveals a bipartisan investigation that the disgraced former governor his top AIDS were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations I want to start with the March 25th directive isn't it correct former Governor that Dr zuker served as your Commissioner of health during the covid crisis yes and you have stated and shared that you have great respect for Dr zuker's work in professionalism you have said that in the past is that correct I don't know if I've used those words words but I'll take your word for it do you have respect for Dr zooker and his professionalism are you aware that Dr zooker testified that the March directive was prompted by a direct request to you former Governor Cuomo from the greater New York Hospital Association are you aware of that fact I'm not aware of his testimony no well that was what he testified to this committee Dr zooker also went on to say quote greater New York Hospital Association called the governor and the team we were all there in a conversation end quote I also want to add are you aware that another staff at the Department of Health testified that the March 25th order did receive sign off from the executive chamber are you aware of that fact uh no I'm aware of the testimony to the exact opposite that you received uh that that is incorrect he said yes absolutely that's not the testimony that I have before me the testimony I have before me when he was asked whether the March 25th order was signed off by the executive chamber the answer was yes absolutely and on top of that Dr zooker testified that quote everything goes to the governor's office and by the way Governor you and I both know that under your terrible leadership in New York everything does go through the governor's office my followup is it wasn't just the directive itself governor it was the coverup this investigation found that you former governor and your most senior AIDS made a deliberate decision to exclude certain covid-19 related nursing home deaths to hide and undercount the actual mortality rate in nursing homes and for the public Governor Cuomo changed the methodology of counting nursing home fatalities to exclude out of facility deaths to undercount those I want to ask you what period of time were you negotiating for your book deal congresswoman if there was a fact in what you said no I'm asking you a question I'm asking you a question what dates did you negotiate for your book deal that is the question before you today answering a question that the question that I asked my testimony says during that time did you have any discussions with the executive chamber regarding the need for guidance that's not the testimony I'm referring to absolutely was the answer Governor absolutely you're throwing your staff you are for this question to you when were you negotiating for your multi-million Advance deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes that is the question in front of you you can't make up facts congresswoman you're the one making up facts you're the one who undercounted nursing home deaths you're the one who I want to ask right now you apologize today but there are families sitting here I want you to turn around look them in the eye and apologize what you have failed to do will you do it this is not about political theater it's about about accountability why did 1.2 million Americans Die Why did more you're the former Governor who disra pres lie to the people executive order was under your name it was countered to CDC and CMS let president Trump Li this is about those seniors Governor they deserve to hear from you in the eye that you apologize that you were negotiating for a multi-million doll book deal it is a Grace there is a reason why you were the former Governor of New York State and you will never hold elected office again I yield [Applause] back thank you Mr chairman Mr Cuomo I'd like to remind you that you're under oath you've said a lot today in your opening statement you attacked president Trump and his response I'd also like to remind you of statements that you've said on April 13th of 2020 on the Howard Stern Show you said and I quote Trump has delivered for New York he has and then you talked about Trump sending the ship the Comfort ship mind you that the Comfort ship was sent to New York on March 30th of 2020 that was just a few days after you signed the directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25th which led to murdering people's parents grandparents parents and great-grandparents yes murdering them today you said and I'll quote you you said that high deaths in nursing homes is a conspiracy theory would you like to turn to the people here in this room today whose mothers died and their fathers died in these nursing homes and call them conspiracy theorists do you have theity to do that Mr said that you said that today you're under you're under oath video there's video of all of your words today you can be fact checked we'll do that when this is over you also blamed staff for spreading covid in nursing homes not covid patients you blamed the staff St but yet on March 25th I didn't ask you a question I'm talking to you on March 25th you signed a directive to put covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 30th president Trump sent the Comfort ship and you did not put covid patients in the comfort ship you didn't send them to the Javis Medical Center that President Trump had built which was a field Hospital you didn't send them there you put them in nursing homes which is murder that's not no that's murdering people I'm saying that right now and I'm also saying what a lot of people believe what your actions did let's also talk about some other things that you've done Mr Cuomo let's talk about a tweet that you made because there's an indictment out on a woman named Linda Sun Linda sun and I'll read this indictment it says on April 4th April 4th politician number one politician number one publicly thanked PRC official number one both in public remarks in and in a post on Twitter that's this right here for helping arrange the donation which was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport in Queens New York that day so Mr Cuomo you were thanking China the PRC while you had a woman named Linda Sun working for you who has now been identified as a Chinese spy now today you have come before the American people in our committee you have insulted many people including people in this room and people watching this hearing who lost their loved ones because of your March 25th directive and at the same time you were thanking the Chinese government while you had a Chinese spy working for you so Mr Cuomo I've read a lot about you including the fact that 13 women that work for you accused you of sexually inappropriate behavior which thanks to the Democrat doj helped you out of that but I'd like to say this and I'll ask you are you either the dumbest tool of the Chinese government or did you know for a fact that you were being used by the the Chinese spy that was working for you I've read about a lot about you too congresswoman that's right and you don't admit them that's it says you can't you can't not admit them you have to admit them you're oh but if we can't take care of them you don't have to admit that's not what it says CMS CDC says you can accept a covid positive person if you can take care of them that's not what this says this says you can't you can't say no just because they have covid-19 but you can say I can't take care of them I have no quarantine so what if they say I can't take care of them because they have covid-19 they can't do that according to this letter they can no they look and I I agree with my colleague here miss green that you had a perfect opportunity to put many of these patients into a safe environment on the hospital ship that had a th beds that was left New York after not being used and using being used less than 190 times it could have been there you could have put them all there and you could have saved a lot of lives but you didn't do now recognize gentl time has expired I now recognize Dr McCormack from Georgia for five minutes of questions well that's the fact thank you Mr chair appreciate this very important uh Co hearing and your leadership on the this topic uh Mr K as you know I'm an ER physician served during the pandemic the entire time seen patience I understand the science I understand the efforts I don't think anybody maliciously wanted to hurt patients or kill anybody however I think we need to learn from our mistakes and admit where we went wrong uh you just now said solely based on the confirmation or suspected diagnosis of covid-19 but the very next sentence reads the nurse gnomes are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested so if you're not tested how would you know if you quote can't take care of them if you don't know if they're positive or negative doctor I understand exactly what you're saying from the reading of the advisory but again it was just an advisory and the laws in place and the advis I'm not a lawyer sir but what I know is if I admit a patient to the hospital or to Observation I have to have a covid test in order to know if I can take care of them and if I can qutain them if I can use PPE if I'm going to Sprint it to one room to another because I have to know what I'm dealing with if you as you say prohibit a testing of a patient you do not know what you're dealing with you do not know if you can take care of them so it's a dishonest argument to begin with and and that's not a question that's a statement sir yeah so what I will say is this when you say when when you basically force people to take tests in order to travel or to go into restaurants or put a mask on or whatever the young non-vulnerable population but you don't allow a test on the most vulnerable population to go mix where they are going to die if we can't at least admit that was a mistake if we can't if we can't say in my book that I write about being the governor of a state that had some questionable results on this co uh pandemic then we're not going to learn from our lessons and I just got to I got got to wonder where did you make did you make any mistakes oh I made plenty of mistakes you don't think this was a mistake the uh looking back the CMS CDC dooh will still defend this order prohibiting covid testing before placing them in a nursing home is going to be defended well there were there were not enough tests there were no tests at this time but wait a minute I understand that you actually had your family tested were those tests not available for the patients going back into Co those very tast tests that were tested on your family young healthy people I assume they weren't available for these people going into the highest risk patients just the way uh virtually every governor in this state so so basically what you're saying is we didn't have enough tests but we use them for my family instead of the people who went to the high-risk community and I just want to I just want to basically back up what was just said Doctor that comment it's better than you're better than that comment people who I might be in contact with with took a test so I didn't get covid just like when I went to see President Trump and they gave me a covid test before I was allowed to see President Trump or his aids to make sure I didn't infect them that was the protocol yeah I I just find it a little hypocritical when we don't have enough tests and we're talking about the highest risk population not being able to test knowing that that's going to literally have an outcome going to be the most succinct vector going into the most vulnerable population and we're wasting on people that literally don't need to be tested when we're and we don't test the very people that are at highest risk and I would just like to say we have family members right here right now that lost their relatives because of that decision which I think was wrong I think it's okay to admit that it was wrong I think you should admit that it's wrong and I think you would come off a lot better to those families if you just turn around and just apologize to those families say I'm sorry it was a bad decision doctor the the again the law supersedes The Advisory The Advisory is saying you talk to the people in the hospital if the hospital discharge people say I think this might per this person might have covid the nursing home says I won't take the person you know I'm just going to say I'm sorry I'll say it I'm sorry your families were exposed to co because people were put it in the nursing homes that weren't tested because there weren't enough testing facilities or enough because we were testing young healthy people instead of the most vulnerable population getting mixed I'm sorry and with that I yield uh you know the question is asked did the federal government require that that the state of New York mandate that its nursing homes admit or readmit residents the answer is no did the federal government mandate that your State issue a directive that prohibited a nursing home from testing an an admitted or readmitted resident for covid-19 the answer is no in fact I don't believe I'm aware of any other state beside jurs that expressly prohibited a nursing home from testing returning or newly admitted residents only only in New York the other states that that had been alleged issued similar orders none were in place as long as New York so many states reverse course and I surmise because it doesn't take a doctor to realize that it was a dangerous misguided plan nevertheless Governor you've maintained and testified to us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume in and the word shall and must it are they permissive or prescriptive Governor are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive are the depends on the context okay well those words are right in in the directive this was not advisory or guidance youve also claim that the directive followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you'd have to ask the uh Department of Health had those conversations so what you're saying is you did not ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the direct beforehand I'm asking you I can ask them later but I'm ask I spoke to the CMS and CDC about a number of matters I don't speak to them about the directive beforehand your directive I did not speak to them about this directive to the best of my record not even after after the directive did you speak with them to the best of my recollection no nor did they speak with me not even to ensure that what you no they never called okay in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted they consulted with them to ensure the applicable science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr debor Burks she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied my position is you deceive Dr Burks you suggested to Dr Burks that we did not have trans transmission based precautions in place and that was not true as you know the Attorney General conducted this investigation this is not new news these charges were made four years ago you then had three Department of Justice investigations that reviewed them you then had an attorney general's investigation that reviewed them the attorne Attorney General of New York who governs the New York law and interprets the New York law found exactly contrary to what you are saying and said it repeatedly and you know she said it repeatedly she said quote the March 25th advisory did not require admission of covid-19 patients into nursing homes but rather said the admission could not be denied solely solely Miriam Webster says that means only on the basis of the Co diagnosis the Attorney General said while some commentators and these were Republican commentators she was referring to suggested Department of Health March 25th guidance was a directive that nursing homes accept covid-19 patients even if they could not care for them such an interpretation would violate statutes and regulations that place obligations on nursing homes to care for residents the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS Guidance the March 25th guidance was consistent with the CMS guidance if nursing homes have the ability to adhere to infection prevention and control recommendations it was also consistent with CDC published transmission-based precautions that's the Attorney General's position and opinion and that's the law of the state of New York and when you spoke to Dr Burks you posed the question suggesting we did not have infection Protections in place and that was not true Mr croma you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume uh in in a context I will interpret it for you as the Attorney General did here as the Attorney General did here yeah are the word shall and must permissive or prescriptive depends on the context in this context the nursing homes were not directed to accept anyone it was up to the discretion of the nursing home that was made abundantly clear all the laws of the state of New York remained in effect as a matter of fact the law of the state of New York says they can only accept people who they can care for the law of the state of New York says they have to do a full diagnosis before a person comes in if they have a communicable disease they have to have a written letter saying the person is not infectious or an infection plan in place so the every law in the state of New York governing nursing homes was in effect sir well Governor there might be a lot of lawyers who disagree with you um using using it's my excuse me using the word shall and must these words are right here in the directive this was not advisory or guidance it wasn't you have also claimed that the directed followed CMS and CDC guidance did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand the Attorney General said it follows CMS guidance and is consistent with CMS guidance when you talk about attorneys yes I'm an attorney yes I'm the former Attorney General of New York but the law is interpreted by the current attorney general that is how she interpreted the law that is the law that was in place that was the law that was in place during the pandemic she has sued nursing homes for uh misconduct during the pandemic based on that thank you Governor my question was did you ever speak with anyone you Governor Cuomo did you ever speak with anyone at CMS or CDC about the directive beforehand you Governor Cuomo I you asked that question and I answered the question and I said no did you or not I said no I answered the question okay thank you not even after correct I said yes and they never called me after you would think if they had a problem with the directive they would have called if it was so outrageous you didn't even call to you didn't even call to ensure that you were what you were declaring was accurate yes or no I don't know if the Department of Health issu Governor Cuomo right now I'm talking to you Governor Pomo did you even attempt to ensure that what you were declaring was accurate I'm asking you I don't want to hear about anyone else okay Department of Health issued 400 advisories several per day I did not speak to CMS about 400 advis thank you in fact no one we interviewed said they consulted with them to ensure the able science was being followed former White House Corona virus coordinator Dr Deborah Burke she was in charge of all federal guidance in 2020 she testified that your order absolutely violated CMS guidance is it your position that Dr Burks lied you misrepresented the fact I'm asking a question I'm stating what she said I'm not Mis representing anything because this is what she said and I just want you I'm asking you if Dr Dr Burks lied that's my question Dr Burks said that the March 25th advisory which you read to her in your words didn't have appropriate infection control procedures that was by your representation the Attorney General's representation is the law of the state of New York was in effect which has an infection control plan mandates they only accept people who they can handle mandates that if the person is a communicable disease that it's treated before they accept the person or they don't so the infection-based control precautions were in place if you the question to Dr Burks was uh would you allow admission if there were no transmission-based precautions and she said no and I would agree but they were in place so many states reverse course and I surmised because it doesn't take a doctor to realize this is a dangerous misguided plan taking place in New York nevertheless Governor you maintained testified us since the pandemic that your directive was based on and consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and you're a lawyer so you know the difference between permissive versus prescriptive language I assume are are the words shall and must permissive or prescriptive it's not my lawyer it's the Attorney General of the state of New York who interprets the law that's how the law Works sir thank you Governor CUO do you stand by the March 25th 2020 directive uh the March 25th directive was based on the CDC CMS gu you stand by it they both do the same thing uh both C excuse me you said that the directive followed CDC and CMS guidance are you aware of anyone in your office that asked CDC or CMS about the policies in the directive uh the Attorney General ained legally they were uh the same uh and said the March 25th order was consistent with the federal guidance and you stand by and you say it followed Federal guidance then why did it need to be superseded by executive order was this because it was superseded later I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you it was superseded later on because we then got to a position in uh may I believe where we had enough testing capacity and we mandated testing for nursing home staff so it had nothing to do with public relations or bad and also the this political uh this was all politics all the time okay and it it bothered and scared people because they didn't know who to believe okay okay on June on June 7th 2020 your executive