The New York Times ran a big story last weekend about Hank Paulson's contacts with Goldman Sachs, but they couldn't get a quote from Paulson because he was too busy writing his memoirs. Really? No, not really.

Paulson's spokesperson said he was "busy writing his memoirs and that his publisher had barred him from granting interviews until his manuscript was done."

Oops, the WSJ's Katherine Rosman actually went and asked his publisher if that was true. And the publisher, in a comical twist, said no, he never "barred" Paulson from anything, but of course, "Hank is in process of writing his book and quite frankly, he is on deadline. He is too busy to go and sit for interviews."

The entire US Treasury Department is a subsidiary of Grand Central Publishing's Business Plus imprint.
[Pic: Getty]