Emails from former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s senior staff revealed Cuomo was intimately involved in drafting a New York State Health Department report that deflected blame for thousands of nursing home resident deaths due to COVID-19 in early 2020.

During his testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic earlier this month, Cuomo denied any responsibility for the March 25, 2020, directive that required nursing homes to take in patients with COVID-19, saying instead that it was developed entirely within the NYSHD.