Federal prosecutors subpoenaed material related to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's book on handling the COVID-19 crisis, report says

• Prosecutors have subpoenaed material related to Gov. Cuomo's book about the pandemic, WSJ reports.
• It is to help with the federal investigation into whether Cuomo's office covered up nursing-home deaths.
• Prosecutors appear to be interested in what the book says about nursing homes, sources told the WSJ.

Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed material related to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's book on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic as part of an investigation into nursing-home deaths in the state, The Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind and Corinne Ramey reported.

People familiar with the matter told The Journal that prosecutors from the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn sought materials, including the pitch that was used to pitch the book to publishers.

Those people said the material prosecutors asked for suggested the prosecutors were interested in what the book said about nursing homes.

Cuomo's book, "American Crisis," was published in October 2020.

Since the book's release, his office has been accused of covering up coronavirus deaths in nursing homes.

A January report from New York's attorney general found that the state had been purposefully undercounting its COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, and said that the office has opened an investigation.

In March, The Journal reported that Cuomo's advisors successfully pressured state health officials to undercount those deaths in a government report last summer.

Former federal prosecutor Michael Weinstein told The Journal that prosecutors may be interested in material related to Cuomo's book because it could differ from what he was saying publicly at the time.