NY Gov. Hochul claims she was blindsided by Benjamin indictment, on hunt for new lieutenant governor

ALBANY, N.Y. — Brian Benjamin’s indictment on federal bribery charges came as a “surprise” to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who claimed Wednesday she was caught off guard by the scandal that ensnared her hand-picked right-hand man. The governor said she made the best decision she could “based on the information I had at the time” when choosing Benjamin to be her lieutenant governor last year, despite ethical questions raised before his appointment. “Clearly, we need a better process. It was very disappointing to me personally how this played out,” she told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer. Benjamin resigned Tuesday, ...