Bankers gamble on Navajos

Is JP Morgan Chase taking a gamble on $100 million credit line to the Navajo Nation?The Navajo Nation has received notice that a lawsuit looms in the future against a resolution authorizing the use of what could be a $100 million line of credit from JP Morgan Bank.

A group of individuals who, for varying reasons, believe that President Joe Shirley and the Navajo Nation Council overstepped their authority in passing a resolution intended to secure funding for the building of at least one casino on the Navajo reservation.What might happen:In a telephone interview on Dec. 6, Zion stood on a statement given during a press conference earlier in the week.

"In response to an offhand question by two different reporters, I stated that if I were an official at JP Morgan Chase, I would be very careful about releasing any money to the tribe while the threat of a lawsuit is in the air," Zion said. "I have been reading press on the case to try and see what the other side has to say, and I read where [it was] predicted that JP Morgan Chase would seek an opinion that the lawsuit has no merit, and then go through with the loan. My question is, why would a bank rely on an attorney who had no authority in Navajo Nation law? And would I rely on the Navajo Nation?"

Zion answered his own questions with a laugh, then said that should any funds be expended by the time a judge could act on the lawsuit, JP Morgan--not the Navajo Nation--could end up being liable for any funds expended while the matter was in court.