would Dimon really go up to the Hill and say $9 billion was $2-3 billion

Would Metropolitan Edison put out a press release on the first day saying things were contained on Three Mile Island?

Would BP consistently underestimate how much oil was spilling from the Deepwater Horizon?

Weren't we told that Fukushima was pretty much controlled within a few days?

Don't I remember hearing that "No one could have predicted this" a day after 9/11, when it turns out that it was predicted, specifically, just months before?

If you're asking "Would he outright lie?" Is tobacco addictive?

If I learned one thing over the years, it's that bad news will consistently be downplayed at first report, and the truth (or as much of that rare commodity as we are ever allowed to see) will come out later, often much later.

Consider it something like "original spin". We are all born with it, and we got our first glimpse of it when we had to tell our Mom something bad in which we had a starring role. When I first heard the JPM official number I thought to myself "double, at least." Looks like I may have been too optimistic by half.

"Third rate burglary", "I did not have sexual relations with that woman", and so on. We're used to it in the political arena, but it's just as prevalent in business. Heck, look at how Chevron keeps spinning the news of its continuing losses and disasters in Ecuador. To hear the company tell it, they're winning!