Pension mess: Rattner claims Schumer OK'd Morris

The new book by Steve Rattner, former Obama auto-industry overhauler, whose investment firm did business with the state pension fund, reportedly refers to Hank Morris, the political consultant since accused of acting as a pay-to-play gatekeeper for access to the fund run by his once-close client, then-Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Morris helped run US Sen. Charles Schumer's successful 1998 campaign. Here, Marcus Baram on HuffPost summarizes Rattner's reference to Schumer as follows:

"Rattner hardly mentions the scandal -- paying $1.1 million to a placement agent to win business with powerful state pension funds -- which forced Quadrangle, the firm he cofounded, to disavow him amid a lengthy probe by federal and state investigators. Instead, he claims his innocence by stating that he has "never been accused of so much as jaywalking" in his long career and says that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) vouched for shady placement agent Hank Morris when Rattner asked for his opinion, calling him a "straight shooter"."