MICHIGAN, USA — The Justice Department (DOJ) sent letters to governors of Michigan and three other Democratic-led states seeking data on whether they violated federal law by ordering public nursing homes to accept recovering COVID-19 patients from hospitals.
Those actions have been criticized for potentially fueling the spread of the virus.
Prosecutors said their fact-finding letters also sent to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York were aimed at determining whether the orders “may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents.” Spokespeople for three of the governors said the inquiry was political.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and New York Gov. Andrew Cumo released a joint statement Wednesday on the DOJ's request.
“This is nothing more than a transparent politicization of the Department of Justice in the middle of the Republican National Convention. It’s no coincidence the moment the Trump administration is caught weakening the CDC's COVID-19 testing guidelines to artificially lower the number of positive cases, they launched this nakedly partisan deflection. At least 14 states — including Kentucky, Utah, and Arizona — have issued similar nursing home guidance all based on federal guidelines – and yet the four states listed in the DOJ’s request have a Democratic governor. DOJ should send a letter to CMS and CDC since the State's advisories were modeled after their guidance."
Earlier this month, an Associated Press report blasted the Cuomo Administration, saying the official state count of 6,600 nursing home deaths may be thousands too low, because unlike almost every other state, it only counts those who died on nursing home property.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
