Hank Morris

Chuck Schumer defended Eliot Spitzer and said everyone should move forward and "point to the future."

Someone at New York 1 News sent over a clip of the yet-to-be-aired interview with Schumer. In it, Schumer said:

I find him to be hands on, I find him to be smart. People make mistakes. No question about it. What his administration did, as he said, was a mistake. But he’s moving forward. And I hope everyone will move forward with him. Just as I said with the US Attorneys, now that Gonzales is gone, I hope we can wrap that up quickly and point to the future. I think the same thing would apply to the state.

One major difference there, of course, is that Gonzales resigned and the Spitzer aides involved in the scandal haven't.

In the same interview, Schumer was asked about the troubles surrounding Hank Morris, a political consultant who helped elect Schumer to the Senate. "Well, Hank has been an outstanding political consultant," he said. "He’s a man of great, great intelligence and perception and I find him to be a person of integrity." He added, "But as for this investigation, I don’t know the details."

The interview with Schumer will air tonight at 10.

Here’s a significant story I missed in my morning round-up.

A financial company with ties to former comptroller Alan Hevesi’s closest adviser quietly amended its federal filings to show they got paid about $6 million more in fees than they had originally stated.

Sources said investigators are seeking to determine whether companies receiving investments from the state pension fund - which Hevesi alone controlled from 2003 until the end of last year - were directed by him to pay the "placement fees" to Searle in exchange for receiving the fund's cash.

A man who answered the phone at the company, Greenwhich-CT based Searle & Co. said “I don't know anything about it,” before hanging up. I called back and was told by another person a spokesman would call me back.

I also left a message for Hevesi’s consultant, Hank Morris, and am waiting to hear back.