Former Gov. Cuomo tried to influence his aide's COVID-19 testimony before Congress

Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York, attempted to influence the testimony of a senior official while testifying in Congress about his administration's move to force elderly COVID-19 patients into nursing homes, a congressional report showed.

"Witness Jim Malatras said the 66-year-old ex-governor made him “uncomfortable” by calling and texting him as the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic probed the March 25, 2020 'must admit' order for nursing homes," explained the The New York Post, which had access to the report.

"Malatras, a former director of state operations and chancellor of the State University of New York system, was the only former member of Cuomo’s office to confirm to the COVID committee that the former governor 'edited' a notorious New York Department of Health report that deflated the true nursing home death count due to the order," the media outlet added.

According to the information, Cuomo communicated with his former aide at least three times since early 2021 and always "within 48 hours of the Select Subcommittee taking a specific action in its nursing home investigation."

"The evidence in this Memo supports the finding that former Governor Andrew Cuomo acted in a manner consistent with an attempt to inappropriately influence the testimony of a witness and obstruct the Select Subcommittee’s investigation." highlighted the report reviewed by The New York Post.

Meanwhile, Cuomo's team reacted to the news. Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi argued that this is an attempt to distort the governor's communications with the former aide.

"The fact is that the governor and Mr. Malatras did not speak until after Jim's testimony out of respect for the subcommittee's work, a communication that is perfectly permissible and appropriate," Azzopardi stressed.

According to the report, Malatras resigned in December 2021 and had not heard from the former governor until a day after the House subcommittee held the first hearing at which he testified.

"Hello Jim, Andrew Cuomo here. It’s been a long time. I just want you to know I think about you often. I am very sorry for the pain you went through," Cuomo said in the text message dated May 18, 2023.

"I hear you are doing well and if there’s anything I can ever do to help you of course I will. I know it hurts," the former governor added.

The next message came nine months later. It came two days after the subcommittee invited the aide to testify.

"Hello Jim, now that the dust has settled, and the truth is being revealed, I wanted to check in with you and see how you are doing. ... I am sure that you will do well because quality and talent always wins in the end. All the best, Andrew," the former governor wrote on Feb. 18, 2024.

In a letter, Malatras explained to the panel that the governor also contacted him to talk about how the decision on nursing homes had gone better than he thought it would.

"I interpreted the call as an effort to make me aware of the positive information about which he intended to testify. I only listened and did not respond to his discussion on nursing homes, because I was uncomfortable having to potentially contradict or disagree with Governor Cuomo on the call, or somehow prejudicing the upcoming Select Subcommittee hearing by discussing it at all," Malatras noted.