Attorneys for former New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin on Thursday argued that prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York “trie[d] to gloss over” allegations that they coerced a Benjamin co-conspirator into asserting he engaged in a quid pro quo with the former lieutenant governor.

Benjamin’s lead attorney, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel partner Barry Berke, has moved for further discovery related to the allocution of Harlem real estate developer Gerald Migdol, who pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud offenses the same day a grand jury returned Benjamin’s indictment.