Andrew Cuomo weighs in on New York lieutenant governor scandal: 'How could this happen?'

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Disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., wrote in a Monday column for the New York Daily News that New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin's resignation and indictment "raises troubling questions."

Cuomo, who resigned as governor in August 2021 following several sexual misconduct allegations, said that his administration "reformed the insidious pork-barrel member-item process" after several scandals. Benjamin was forced to resign last week over federal charges of bribery and other offenses.

FILE - Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference at New York's Yankee Stadium, on July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

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Cuomo said that under his tenure, the attorney general's office had adopted a thorough vetting process and required legal certificates that guaranteed there was "no conflict of interest or financial relationship between the legislator and the grantee."

"In The Brian Benjamin case, the entire system failed," the former governor wrote. "How could this happen? The public deserves answers now." 

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He addressed the rise in crime in New York, saying the state needed to take "dramatic action" in order to give residents "hope rather than fear."

2021 saw the stormy exits of Chris and Andrew Cuomo from CNN and the New York governorship. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (CNN  |  Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

"A police officer on every train worked before and will work again. But police must actively patrol, and that means district attorneys must prosecute crimes," Cuomo said. 

He also argued that the congressional and legislative lines that were recently passed violate "constitutional language prohibiting partisan redistricting."

"The way things played out in New York is an egregious statement of disdain for the rule of law," he said. 

He contended that the New York legislature "wants to keep the political advantage" and noted that "judges rely on the Legislature for their salaries." 

"It will be the trifecta of dysfunction," Cuomo wrote. 

FILE - This photo from Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, shows New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul during a cabinet meeting at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File) (AP)

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Cuomo is reportedly mulling a run against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, the former lieutenant governor who took over for Cuomo after he resigned. 

The former governor faced more scandals than his sexual harassment allegations while in office. A comptroller audit released in March found that Cuomo's administration undercounted nursing home deaths by as much as 50% from April 2020 to February 2021. 

The investigation was launched after Attorney General Letitia James revealed her findings in January 2021. Cuomo ordered New York nursing homes to take in patients to had or might have had COVID-19.