The pair are expected to appear before the Senate on Tuesday. Allowing Goldman plenty of time to give the SEC’s case a good going over – gaps have already started to show.

Firstly a damaging testimony from a former Paulson & Co hedge fund trader was leaked. Paulo Pellegrini, reportedly said the third party firm involved in creating the derivative was aware of Paulson’s intention to sell the instrument short. This undermines a central allegation put forward by the SEC which accused Goldman of misleading investors and the firm ACA, which marketed the collateralised debt obligation, by helping Paulson pick the securities for the derivative’s portfolio without disclosing that he was planning to short it.

And secondly LB has been on the phone to clients to set the record straight. The FT reports: In the conversations with private equity executives and others, Mr Blankfein left clients with the impression that he was eager to fight the charges in court. The SEC has requested a jury trial. “He was very aggressive,” said one person called by Mr Blankfein on Wednesday. “He feels that the government is out to kill them, that they are under attack and the whole thing is totally political.” Mr Blankfein said the SEC action “hurts America”, this person said.

The political angle was given weight by the fact that the SEC’s decision to proceed against Goldman was split 3/2 along party lines.

All that and an angry LB. Someone at the SEC must be sweating.