The U.S. Department of Justice is requesting data from governors of four states, including Michigan, regarding orders that may have resulted in the deaths of elderly nursing home residents at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a press release from the DOJ, they are evaluating whether to initiate investigations under the federal “Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act” (CRIPA), which protects the civil rights of persons in state-run nursing homes to determine if data backs up the claim that the ordered COVID -19 admissions caused deaths.
The inquiry is not being well-received by the governors. Governor Gretchen Whitmer accused the DOJ of playing politics.
A joint letter from the four governors involved said, “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.”
The inquiry does not imply wrongdoing, nor have any conclusions been reached at this time.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
