House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) announced the subpoena at the end of his opening statement for Cuomo’s first public congressional testimony on the scandal.

Wenstrup said the subpoena is “vitally important” to continuing the investigation.

The subpoena cover letter obtained by the Washington Examiner outlines that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D-NY) administration has not been communicative with the select subcommittee regarding necessary documents to proceed with the investigation into the nursing home policy.

“Although you promised to be ‘fully transparent’ regarding COVID-19 in nursing homes, the Executive Chamber’s decision to withhold responsive documents–without notice to the Select Subcommittee–is anything but transparent, has unjustifiably delayed our investigation, and falls squarely on your shoulders,” Wenstrup wrote to Hochul.

Cuomo has repeatedly denied involvement with the establishment of the March 25, 2020, directive that mandated nursing homes readmit COVID-19 patients, despite testimony from Cuomo’s Executive Chamber staff members and the New York State Department of Health that he was aware of the policy from the beginning.

According to the select subcommittee’s investigation, approximately 9,000 COVID-19-positive seniors were admitted to nursing homes under the order from March 25 until the policy was rescinded in May due to public outcry, resulting in as many as 15,000 COVID-19 deaths.

Cuomo has relied on the fact that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued guidance in the early stages of the pandemic stating that nursing homes could readmit COVID-19-positive patients as long as they followed social distancing and other guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But the March 25 order specifically prohibited nursing homes from denying admittance to patients, in what Wenstrup wrote in his opening statement as “must admit.”

The select subcommittee began requesting documents from the Hochul administration in May 2023, but the Executive Chamber did not provide any documents until February.

Even with the nearly 375,000 documents that were eventually produced, Wenstrup wrote in the subpoena cover letter that the documents received were “incomplete and substantially redacted–often inconsistently and without apparent legal basis.”

“Further, there are responsive documents that the Select Subcommittee knows exist–through public reporting and witness testimony–that were not included in the productions,” Wenstrup wrote. “This is unacceptable.”

Mobile communications, including texts and BlackBerry PIN messages, between Cuomo and Executive Chamber members were specifically omitted from the chamber’s productions.

The Executive Chamber has also made claims of privilege, specifically about the deliberation process regarding establishing and rescinding the policy, that Wenstrup says are “overly vague.”

Wenstrup said in the letter that the Executive Chamber did not provide any documents or communications regarding the development of the order, such as emails, meeting notes, or memos discussing the science and federal advice at the time of the policy.

The subpoena cover letter also explains that the Executive Chamber is withholding documents and communications about nursing home patient data, which is information that was discussed with the subcommittee during the transcribed interviews with former Cuomo administration staff members.

“You’re the leader,” Wenstrup said in his opening statement for the hearing. “The buck stops with you.”

Wenstrup said he hopes that Hochul fulfills her promise to be fully transparent in the investigation.

The subpoena requires a response by Sept. 24.