Jamie Dimon: The Interrogation That Wasn't

       Dimon was mostly fawned on particularly by the Repugs:

       "Despite the controversy plaguing the bank, Mr. Dimon on Wednesday seemed to solidify his status as Washington’s favorite banker. Clad in a dark suit and striped tie, he navigated the hearing with relative ease, deflecting tough questions and fielding softball inquiries."

       "He received a particularly warm welcome from Republican senators, who praised JPMorgan and allowed the chief executive to offer criticisms of forthcoming financial rules. Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, asked Mr. Dimon about the Volcker Rule, an element of the Dodd-Frank regulatory overhaul meant to clamp down on banks’ trading for their own account. Mr. Vitter asked if there was a version of the Volcker Rule that “makes sense.” Mr. Dimon, who is not a big fan of the extensive regulation, responded, “I thought it was unnecessary when it was added on top of other stuff.”

       "Some lawmakers used their five-minute question periods to compliment Mr. Dimon and ask his advice on fixing the economy. At one point, Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, said, “I think a lot of us are frustrated bank managers and want to manage your business for you,” before praising JPMorgan for being in better financial shape than the country as a whole."

        Ouch, take it easy! He's a "job creator!" For all this he did make a little news potentially by admitting that he knew about this back in March-a full month before he had declared this is all "a tempest in a teapot."

        Interesting choice of words-teapot makes me think of a corrupt guy named Warren Harding-or his friends were corrupt and he was too ignorant to notice. If JPMorgan is in better financial shape than the country as a whole is that something to brag about? Isn't this where the resentment comes from-that they're back to record profits while the country is in such a bad way?

       "He also disclosed for the first time that the positions, which have since caused at least $3 billion in losses, set off the bank’s own internal risk alarms in March, weeks before Mr. Dimon publicly played down the threat on a conference call with analysts. The revelation raises new questions about Mr. Dimon’s now-infamous statements on the April 13 conference call, when he said that concerns about the trades were a “complete tempest in a teapot.”

      “Why were you willing to be so definitive?” asked Senator Tim Johnson, the South Dakota Democrat who leads the banking committee.

        "Mr. Dimon, striking a brief note of contrition, conceded, “It was dead wrong.”

         The trouble with all this is that JP Morgan has an implicit government guarantee which it can't deny by arguing they didn't need the money. Whether they personally did then or not is besides the point. All the banks have an implicit government guarantee including JPM. Unless there's a way to guarantee they will never be bailed out they can't claim to not be playing with taxpayer funds on some level.