The article also mentioned that Goldman's private-equity arm had earlier considered making an investment in L&H but passed because of the very concerns that later felled the company. In retrospect, the Bakers thought Goldman's private- equity arm should have told its bankers that it was skeptical of L&H. But guess what? There is a fire wall between the two parts of the bank, and this time - at least - it seemed to work.

The Times also didn't mention that as a result of the lawsuits the Bakers brought against the other professionals involved in the deal, they have already reaped some US$70 million. They are suing Goldman in order to add to their legal winnings.

Yes, it's extraordinarily important to hold powerful institutions such as Goldman Sachs to account for reckless or unethical behavior.

As I wrote in my book about the firm, in 2007, it was unacceptable for Goldman Sachs to continue to sell mortgage-backed securities at par to investors around the globe at the same time it was making a huge proprietary bet against the mortgage market.

But enough is enough. The news media can't continue to take one-sided potshots at Goldman Sachs just because it makes for a good story.

William D. Cohan, the author of "Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World," is a Bloomberg View columnist. He was formerly an investment banker at Lazard Freres, Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase, against which he lost an arbitration case over his dismissal. The opinions expressed here are his own.

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