On the heels of IRS targeting of Tea Party groups, we have another example of the "Chicago Way" in action. The New York Post reported on Sunday: JPMorgan Chase has tentatively agreed to pay the Department of Justice a record $13 billion settlement to resolve several civil probes relating to residential mortgage-backed securities - a costly deal that still doesn't protect the bank against additional criminal prosecutions. The settlement, revealed Saturday, would be the largest lump payout the US government has ever asked of an individual company. "This is a basic and fundamental attack on capitalism," declared Dick Bove, an influential bank analyst at Rafferty Capital. "It is possible that the government is taking away the property of the JPMorgan shareholders without the shareholders having committed any crime or having any say in the expropriation of these funds." The shakedown was completed personally by Attorney General Eric Holder. According to...(Read Full Post)