Goldman Sachs CEO Blankfein Expected to Testify in Rajaratnam Trial (GS)

Federal prosecutors plan to call Goldman Sachs GS CEO Lloyd Blankfein as a witness in the insider trading trial of Raj Rajaratnam as soon as today, a letter sent to the judge indicates. Blankfein was previously listed as a potential witness, but it was unclear if prosecutors actually planned to use his testimony. CNBC's Scott Cohn is reporting that in the letter, "the government wants to question Blankfein about the service of Goldman board member Rajat Gupta, allegedly a key source of inside information for Rajaratnam. Rajaratnam, the 53-year old founder of the Galleon Group, faces 14 criminal counts. Gupta is accused in an administrative complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission of supplying illegal tips to Rajaratnam. Gupta has denied the allegations and last week sued the SEC." Specifically, prosecutors want to know about "the duties of confidentiality that Gupta owed to Goldman Sachs, and certain confidential information that Gupta obtained through his service on Goldman's board in 2008." For what it's worth, in the statement prosecutors offer some insight: "This Office has not notified Mr. Blankfein or Goldman Sachs that either is a target (or, for that matter, a subject) of any pending criminal investigation," the letter says. Shares of Goldman Sachs closed Tuesday higher by 0.36%, to $160.79.