Blankfein May Testify for the Government in Insider Trading Case

This is simply beyond surreal. The guy that cooks up schemes regularly with the White House and Treasury may testify in the insider trading show trial against Raj Rajaratnam.

WSJ reports:

Goldman Sachs Group Chief Executive Lloyd C. Blankfein has agreed to testify for the U.S. government at the coming trial of Rajaratnam, the hedge-fund titan facing insider-trading charges, according to people familiar with the matter.

First, what is this about Blankfein agreeing to testify? Isn't it usually the case that when the government wants you to testify you must testify? It's not an optional thing.

When the government wanted me to testify in a case, they didn't give me any options, they told me to be in court or else. Only after I made it very clear to the government attorney handling the case that he and the government would look like buffoons if they called me as a witness, did my name suddenly get off the witness list.

Second, how did this leak come about? You can be sure that Goldman's spinmeister Lucas van Praag isn't calling up WSJ to get Blankfein's name in the middle of this trial. And, it is doubtful that Blankfein even says anything even at his own at family barbecues anymore without van Praag going over the script. This leak smells very much like a prosecution leak, to dirty the jury pool and get in good with WSJ reporters.

Insider trading would never be a crime in any just world, but, in any world I can think of, a prosecutor playing dirty pool and leaking stories to the press would be hunted down and thrown in the can for a very long time.