Former Goldman Managing Director: There's a Real Possibility Blankfein Will Do Time

Former Goldman Sachs managing director Nomi Prins considers the news that Lloyd Blankfein has hired a lawyer who  has represented former Enron chief accounting officer Richard Causey (who pleaded out), former Rite Aid vice chairman and chief counsel Franklin Brown (found guilty by a jury on 10 counts of conspiring to falsely inflate his company’s value), and former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers (convicted on nine felony counts by a jury) and concludes:

You could look at Blankfein hiring external counsel as a normal prudent, legal move. But that’s naive, given the attorney he selected. Hiring a major criminal-defense lawyer is about more than the fear of a $550 million SEC wrist slap for bad documentation in the Abacus CDO. It’s about the real possibility of doing time.

Prins speculation may be a bit ahead of the facts that are public, but Blankfein looks more and more like he may become the poster boy of bankster evil. The hoosegow for Blankfein can not be ruled out. That said, bankster operations will continue unimpeded.

Blankfein would be nothing but a sacrificial lamb.