WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and his colleagues wrote a letter calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to continue its probe into whether state officials failed to comply with federal guidelines or requirements for participation in federal programs in their response to coronavirus infections among seniors and nursing home residents. The lawmakers are also calling on the department to expand its review to consider whether any state officials sought to conceal failures or unfavorable information or otherwise obstruct justice.

“Nursing homes remain hotspots for the coronavirus, which is why we ask that DOJ continue to diligently investigate the extent to which four states’ governors violated the civil rights of nursing home residents and failed in their duty of care,” wrote the lawmakers. “We also ask that you investigate whether any such state directives were inconsistent with guidelines or requirements for participation in Federal programs and determine whether there was a cover-up or obstruction of justice by public officials who were the subject of DOJ’s investigations.”

The Department of Justice launched an investigation last August into whether state orders in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan violated the civil rights of senior citizens and nursing home residents. Since that investigation began, statements by New York state officials indicate that the state intentionally withheld data on the rate of COVID-19-related nursing home deaths. A subsequent report by the state’s attorney general found that the actual rate of nursing home-related fatalities due to the pandemic was understated by as much as 50 percent.

Read the full letter here.

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