John Daukas, who served as acting U.S. Attorney General for the Department of Civil Rights at the Department of Justice, explained Monday why he believes the New York government, Andrew Cuomo, should be concerned about a federal investigation into the alleged countdown. of deaths in nursing homes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“On March 25, the governor issued his order requiring nursing homes to accept people who are infected, still infected with COVID, and something that is often overlooked. The order prohibits nursing homes from testing people for “Determining whether they have COVID people has been put back in a very vulnerable population,” Daukas told Fox & Friends on Monday.
“New York had by far the highest death rate in the country by summer, more than 32,000 deaths, twice the deaths of any other state,” he continued.
‘But the governor went around saying that the death toll in the old age home was very low and that it did not look good to us at the Department of Justice. That is why we asked for information on state-run nursing homes, which my group, the Civil Rights Division, has jurisdiction over and New York provided us with data that showed that they underestimated the deaths in the nursing homes by a third, ‘Daukas said. added.
Cuomo found himself in the middle of a federal investigation into whether his government wanted to hide the true toll of the pandemic.
The New York Post reported earlier this month that Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s top assistant, told lawmakers that the government withheld the numbers for fear they would be used against us.
In an opie for the Wall Street Journal, Daukas, he wrote that DeRosa’s permissible confessions were not ‘merely negligent, but intentional and perhaps criminal’.
Daukas said numerous federal statutes may apply, pointing out that Cuomo’s government accuses them of both making false statements to the federal government and trying to thwart an investigation.
‘Although it can not be proven that the Cuomo government knowingly provided false information to Justice and the (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), New York’s willful failure to provide information may itself constitute a criminal offense – especially if the intention was to conduct a federal investigation – which is allegedly exactly what Ms. DeRosa said the administration did, ‘Daukas wrote.
Daukas told host Steve Doocy on Monday that after learning from the Department of Justice that deaths in nursing homes had been underestimated, ‘we went to our sister department, the Civil Department of the Department of Justice who asked for the same information for the lake. as 600 private nursing. homes in New York State and New York rocked the rest of the year and yielded nothing, perhaps waiting for a change in government. ‘
Daukas appeared on Fox & Friends on Monday with Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean, who lost her elderly in-laws to COVID-19. Dean said she believes Cuomo or his administration is behind the decision to allow infected patients back into nursing homes.
She told Fox News in August that her husband’s father, who was in a nursing home and rehabilitation center, died the same day she and her husband found out he was ill.
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Dean noted that her husband’s mother contracted a coronavirus in her emergency room and was transported to the hospital and died in the hospital. ‘Her mother-in-law died on April 14, about two weeks after her father-in-law died of the novel coronavirus.
On Monday, an emotional dean told Doocy that she was “grateful” to Daukas and former Attorney General William Barr “for starting this investigation.” She referred to Barr and Daukas as ‘brave people’ and said if it had not been for their actions, she does not believe there would be an investigation into Cuomo.
“John Daukas is a hero and the coverage in the Wall Street Journal today is incredible,” Dean said. “It’s incredible for all of us, all the families who want justice.”
Doocy asked Dean, “What will justice look like for your family?”
“I want the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and I think we’re going that way,” she replied.
She stressed that she believes because of Daukas and the Department of Justice that her family will get answers, adding that she hopes Biden’s Department of Justice will continue the effort.
Doocy asked Daukus if he “feels confident that we will finally know the truth and that Janice’s family will receive justice?”
“I do,” he replied. “It’s something that has hurt so many different people that we really need to think about.”
“This is not a political issue. It’s about justice,” he continued.
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A Cuomo spokesman did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Foxford’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.