Lloyd Blankfein: Fraud Case Will 'Hurt America'

Goldman Sachs CEO rails against SEC in call to clients
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 22, 2010 9:44 AM CDT
Lloyd Blankfein: Fraud Case Will 'Hurt America'
Goldmann Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein speaks at the IOSCO 2009 conference, for the International Organization of Securities Commissions in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, June 10, 2009.   (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Lloyd Blankfein called up a host of top Goldman Sachs clients yesterday and told them in no uncertain terms where the SEC could stick its fraud charges. Blankfein complained that the case was politically motivated, and would “hurt America,” one of the clients tells the Financial Times. “He was very aggressive. He feels that the government is out to kill them.”

Blankfein didn't say if he intended to settle the suit, but clients got the impression that he would not. “They will likely fight aggressively and hope to win clean,” one client said. SEC chairman Mary Schapiro, meanwhile, issued a statement denying any political motivation. “We will be governed always and only by the facts and the law,” she promised. (More Lloyd Blankfein stories.)

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