Ex-New York Lt. Gov. Previews Bribery Defense: ‘No Personal Benefits’
A federal prosecutor said on Monday that the government had issued more than 160 subpoenas for financial, phone and other records as part of its investigation into New York’s former lieutenant governor, Brian A. Benjamin, who resigned last week after being charged with bribery and fraud.
At a hearing in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the prosecutor, Jarrod L. Schaeffer, suggested a trove of potential evidence of broad scope and complexity.
On Monday morning alone, Mr. Schaeffer said, the government turned over about 160,000 pages of materials to Mr. Benjamin’s lawyers. The government had also executed about seven search warrants for email accounts and seized and searched cellphones, including one belonging to Mr. Benjamin, he said.
The hearing was the first court appearance for Mr. Benjamin, 45, since his arrest a week ago in what the authorities have depicted as a brazen scheme to funnel illegal contributions to his previous political campaigns and to cover up the criminal activity.
The arrest and Mr. Benjamin’s quick resignation sent tremors through Albany and created a political headache for Gov. Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat who handpicked him to be her second-in-command less than a year ago. Though no trial date was set on Monday, it now appears Mr. Benjamin’s legal saga could easily stretch beyond June’s Democratic primary and this fall’s general election.
In a statement before Monday’s proceeding, lawyers for Mr. Benjamin said they were “shocked and dismayed that the prosecution would bring such flimsy and unwarranted charges against a sitting lieutenant governor, a mere 67 days before voting begins in the primary election.”
Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, declined to comment.
In the courtroom, Mr. Benjamin’s lawyer, Barry H. Berke, signaled that he would argue that the government had overreached in a case that offers “lively legal issues.”
Most recent political corruption cases, Mr. Berke told the judge, involved a government official receiving personal benefits like watches, cash and no-show jobs in exchange for an official action.
“This case is different, because it’s based solely on political contributions — and no personal benefits,” Mr. Berke said.
Mr. Benjamin, who has pleaded not guilty, has reshuffled his legal team since his arrest, bringing in Mr. Berke and Dani R. James of Kramer Levin as his new lawyers. Mr. Berke represented Bill de Blasio in several inquiries into the former mayor’s fund-raising practices and later served as a lead counsel for both impeachments of former President Donald J. Trump.
Prosecutors have said that Mr. Benjamin used his power, while he was a member of the State Senate, to direct $50,000 in state funds to a charity run by a Harlem real estate developer, Gerald Migdol. In return, Mr. Migdol orchestrated thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to Mr. Benjamin’s failed campaign in 2021 for New York City comptroller and his State Senate campaign, the authorities said.
What to Know About Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin
Who is Brian Benjamin? A Democratic state senator from Harlem, he was selected by Gov. Kathy Hochul to be her lieutenant governor in a move widely seen as an attempt by Ms. Hochul to diversify her ticket before this year’s elections. Mr. Benjamin resigned from the position following an indictment in connection with a campaign finance scheme.
The investigation. Federal authorities have been investigating whether Mr. Benjamin participated in an effort to funnel fraudulent contributions to his unsuccessful 2021 campaign for New York City comptroller. This inquiry stemmed from an indictment charging a Harlem real estate investor with trying to conceal contributions to a candidate in that race.
His resignation. On April 12, Mr. Benjamin was arrested and stepped down as lieutenant governor hours after federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment implicating him in a brazen scheme to enrich his political campaigns with illegal donations. The resignation could prove to be a serious political liability for Ms. Hochul.
Mr. Migdol, who pleaded not guilty last fall to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, has been assisting prosecutors in the investigation, The New York Times has reported.
“Exploiting one’s official authority by allocating state funds as part of a bribe to procure donations to a political campaign, and engaging in activity to cover up the bribe, is illegal,” Michael J. Driscoll, the head of the F.B.I.’s New York office, said in a statement when the charges were announced on April 12.
In the meantime, the ramifications of the case continue to ripple through New York politics.
Though Mr. Benjamin resigned and suspended his re-election campaign within hours of his arrest, state election rules make it exceedingly difficult to remove his name from or replace him on the June Democratic primary ballot.
Two other Democrats will appear alongside him: Diana Reyna, a former New York City councilwoman, and Ana Maria Archila, an activist backed by the left-leaning Working Families Party.
That means that if Ms. Hochul prevails in her own primary contest, she could end up on a Democratic general election ticket this fall with a running mate she did not choose.
Mr. Benjamin, who is free on bond, did not speak in court or as he left with his lawyers. The judge, J. Paul Oetken, said that he might set a trial date at a court hearing next month.
