Clark's attorney, Virginia Gibson, said Monday he moved his retirement up because the inquiry would make it difficult for him to do his job. She declined to comment when asked if he had traded using government equipment or on government time.

The letter from Handelman said a lawyer at the State Employees' Retirement System raised allegations to a board member about Clark, including that he may have misled board members about a $250 million investment with the Tiger Keystone Ventures hedge fund.

That was followed by claims about insider trading and, in October, with allegations about the Tiger deal, which was terminated after it sustained sharp losses, Handelman wrote.

The governor's legal team met with the unnamed lawyer in early October, Handelman wrote.

"As to the allegations of 'day trading,' the attorney made it clear that any such alleged activity related to investments in which SERS had no holdings or in which SERS did not trade," Handelman told Maiale.

State Treasurer Rob McCord, a SERS board member and a Democratic candidate for governor in 2014, has been critical of how the governor's lawyers handled the matter, saying the board should've been told before making investment decisions for the $26 billion plan.

The Office of General Counsel said it moved to preserve "the integrity and thoroughness of any subsequent investigation."

Handelman said the state brought in lawyer William Sasso, a political supporter of Corbett's, to determine if the matter should be reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sasso's firm determined no disclosure to the SEC was called for but said more information was needed to assess the situation. A heavily redacted copy of the letter said Clark had a friendship that he may not have disclosed with someone at Tiger.

Clark's lawyer, when asked about any friendship Clark may have with someone at Tiger, ended a phone interview.

Gibson told the Inquirer that Clark hoped for an early resolution to the allegations.

Lawyers Jeffrey Lutsky and Amy Sparrow, of Sasso's firm, Stradley Ronon, wrote in the letter that they didn't have enough information to determine whether Clark's conduct violated securities laws.

"We do not know Clark's personal investing history, the timing of his investments and whether he purchased any of the same securities as SERS," they wrote.

They said there was "insufficient information to determine whether Clark made any false statements in obtaining the board's approval for the purchase of the Tiger investment."