#Why Andrew Cuomo would be a horrible pick for US attorney general

Gov. Cuomo is reported to be on Joe Biden’s short list for attorney general, though Cuomo says he isn’t interested: Savvy, considering he might not be the ­final choice, and if he is, he’ll have to undergo Senate scrutiny. He’d have a lot to explain.

Set aside the as-yet-unsubstantiated sexual misconduct allegations hurled against him Sunday. The real issue is his track record of proven policy blunders that cost New Yorkers their lives.

Cuomo’s constituents are bearing the brunt of his criminal-justice “reforms” that put repeat offenders back on the streets hours after their arrest with no bail required. That includes many serious offenders.

Repeat offenders are driving a huge spike in gun violence; many would be behind bars if Cuomo hadn’t kowtowed to the extreme left on bail. The toll: 1,756 dead or wounded so far this year in Gotham, according to the NYPD.

Biden should also look at ­Cuomo’s hand-picked Parole Board, which released cop killer Perry Bellamy and convicted killer Samuel Ayala, guilty of raping and murdering two mothers in front of their kids.

Since George Floyd’s tragic death, Cuomo has been panderer-in-chief, accusing all cops in the state of racial bias and threatening funding cuts to any local police department that didn’t change its ways, as if they’re all equally in need of reform. That bullying rhetoric won praise from Al Sharpton, but it isn’t what America needs.

An attorney general is also responsible for ensuring the Justice Department roots out corruption. But Cuomo wallows in it. He ran for governor in 2010 on a vow to clean up Albany. Then he shut down a commission created for that very purpose.

Cuomo himself has never been accused of a crime, but several of his closest aides have been convicted and sentenced to prison — notably Joseph Percoco. He was Cuomo’s longtime confidante who ran two of the governor’s campaigns and was described by Cuomo as his father’s “third son.”

Percoco was convicted of soliciting bribes — he called the money “ziti” — and demanding a low-show job for his wife from companies doing business with the state.

And while Cuomo’s own fundraising methods aren’t illegal under state tax law, he has been largely supported by donors doing business with the state. Hardly a model to be emulated nationwide.

This year, it cost thousands of seniors their lives. The carnage started in March, when hospitals inundated with COVID-19 patients insisted on clearing out elderly patients, even if they were still infected, and sending them to whatever nursing homes had empty beds. To swing that, they had to get rid of a safety regulation requiring that patients test negative twice for COVID-19 before being placed in a home. Cuomo’s state Health Department willingly complied.

On March 25, the Cuomo administration mandated that nursing homes accept COVID patients being discharged from hospitals and barred any testing. Facilities had to fly blind, not knowing who was infected. The infection spread like fire, killing thousands.

Yet the Cuomo administration stuck with its deadly policy until May 10, way too long. The impression of impropriety is unavoidable.

The hospital industry’s lobbying organization, the Greater New York Hospital Association, is a mega-donor to the state Democratic Party’s housekeeping ­account, which helps elect Cuomo. GNYHA’s head, Ken Raske, is usually seated at the governor’s own table at events. When GNYHA was called on for campaign cash in 2018, it came through with more than $1 million. Cuomo’s chumminess with the group certainly doesn’t look kosher.

To cover up the nursing-home deaths, the Cuomo administration began fudging numbers, reporting only patients who died in a home and excluding those who expired after being sent to a hospital. That reduced the toll by half.

The US Justice Department wasn’t fooled. Since August, it’s been pressing for the truth.

Yet Biden has praised Cuomo for doing a “heck of a job” against the virus. Don’t be fooled by the Emmy, Joe.

Cuomo is anti-cop, comfortable with corruption and willing to lie, even about death. Those qualities are not what our crisis-ridden nation needs

Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York.