Justice Department opens investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
By Evan Perez, CNN
(CNN) — The Justice Department has opened an investigation into Andrew Cuomo, former New York governor and a top candidate for New York City mayor, following a referral from congressional Republicans who accused Cuomo of lying during an investigation of his administration’s Covid-19 response, a person briefed on the matter said.
The nascent inquiry follows an earlier request to the Biden administration that didn’t result in an investigation.
It also comes after Justice officials ended a separate corruption prosecution of Eric Adams, the current New York mayor who is one of Cuomo’s rivals for the job. That move prompted upheaval in the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office after prosecutors refused to drop the case as ordered. Adams has vowed to assist the Trump administration’s immigration efforts.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the Cuomo investigation, reported earlier by The New York Times.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for the former governor, said that they had not been informed of the federal investigation and defended Cuomo’s testimony to Congress.
“We have never been informed of any such matter, so why would someone leak it now? The answer is obvious: This is lawfare and election interference plain and simple—something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against,” Azzopardi said in a statement. “Governor Cuomo testified truthfully to the best of his recollection about events from four years earlier, and he offered to address any follow-up questions from the Subcommittee — but from the beginning this was all transparently political.”
A Justice official defended the timing of the moves on Adams and Cuomo, saying “This Department of Justice has ended the weaponization of government and will continue to follow the facts in every case in order restore one tier of justice for all America.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Mark Morales contributed to this report.
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