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The investigation plunges the Justice Department yet again into New York politics as Cuomo runs for New York City mayor. It comes just months after federal prosecutors abandoned a corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams 鈥� Cuomo鈥檚 opponent in the mayoral race 鈥� citing a desire to free Adams up to cooperate with the Trump administration鈥檚 immigration crackdown.

A spokesperson for Cuomo said Tuesday that the former governor was never informed of any such investigation.

鈥淪o why would someone leak it now? The answer is obvious: This is lawfare and election interference plain and simple 鈥� something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against,鈥� Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in an email.

Azzopardi added, 鈥淕overnor 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 鈥� but from the beginning this was all transparently political.鈥�

The investigation was first reported Tuesday by The New York Times. The Justice Department declined Tuesday to comment. Spokespeople for the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office in Washington didn鈥檛 immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The inquiry also subjects the department to claims that it is pursuing retribution against political adversaries. The new leader of the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office in Washington, Jeanine Pirro, ran unsuccessfully against Cuomo for New York attorney general in 2006 and has been a harsh critic in the years since, publicly accusing him of a coverup of nursing home deaths. The Justice Department separately has launched a mortgage fraud investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James, who sued Trump for civil fraud.

The investigation into Cuomo revisits a years-old, politically divisive question over the then-governor鈥檚 handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes. Republicans have zeroed in on a controversial directive his administration issued in March 2020 that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients just because they had had COVID-19. were released from hospitals into nursing homes under the directive, which was rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks.

Comer referred Cuomo to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution last month, alleging that he made false statements to lawmakers during a hearing last year focused on his decision-making.

Cuomo adamantly defended himself during the hearing, blaming the earlier Trump administration for failing to provide enough testing and personal protective equipment in the early days of the pandemic. 鈥淭hese are all diversions to blame New York and other states for the culpability of the federal response, which was malpractice,鈥� Cuomo said.

But Comer asserted that Cuomo had lied during the hearing. He cited what he said was evidence of Cuomo鈥檚 direct involvement in a state report that the congressman said 鈥渓ow-balled鈥� nursing home fatalities.