The current administration is in bed with Goldman, just like the previous one was, but the SEC is independent, and probably feels the need to redeem itself after two decades asleep at the switch.
That said, prosecuting white-collar crime is very difficult and expensive, and anyone going after such an influential firm, not to mention one that can afford legions of slimeball attorneys, will wait until they have an ironclad case to take to court. It doesn't help that many of the FBI's 500 or so pre-9/11 financial crime staffers were reassigned to anti-terrorism duties (tracking the money trail).
Thus the fact this case was filed a mere two years after the misdeeds is quite impressive, and probably just the tip of the iceberg. I believe in the death penalty when applied to corporations, and Goldman Sachs certainly deserves the chop, just as Arthur Andersen did for its part in the Enron scandal, and Ernst & Young ought to for AIG.