Manhattan DA won't prosecute Andrew Cuomo over NY nursing home COVID deaths
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The Manhattan District Attorney's Office will not file criminal charges in connection with the handling of coronavirus deaths in New York nursing homes during the tenure of former Governor Andrew Cuomo, his representative said Monday.
Cuomo's spokesman forwarded a statement from Elkan Abromowitz, an attorney who represented the governor's office.
"I was contacted today by the head of the Elder Care Unit from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, who informed me they have closed its investigation involving the Executive Chamber and nursing homes," the statement read. "I was told that after a thorough investigation - as we have said all along - there was no evidence to suggest that any laws were broken."
Cuomo had come under fire for a policy early in the COVID-19 pandemic that returned nursing home residents to their facilities upon discharge from the hospital, even if they hadn't tested negative.
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He came under additional scrutiny when the New York attorney general found his office undercounted nursing home deaths.
The state Assembly considered whether it could be grounds for Cuomo's impeachment before deciding to take no action. The former governor resigned amid accusations of sexual harassment.
The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a civil inquiry into those allegations, and other New York district attorneys are investigating claims in their individual jurisdictions.
Within the past few weeks, both Westchester District Attorney Miriam Rocah and acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith announced they would not be filing charges against Cuomo, even though both found the accusations to be credible.
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