Nothing like having the cops show up to ruin a good party. One day after Apple’s big event to announced the new iPad and updated Apple TV the Wall Street Journal reports this morning that the U.S. Justice Department has warned Apple and five leading publishers that it is preparing to sue them colluding to fix e-book prices in 2010. The charges relate to Apple’s adoption of “agency pricing” for e-books with the launch of the original iPad. Apple used the pricing strategy, which gives publishers more control over the retail price of e-books, to try to lure publishers away from Amazon, which dominates the e-book market. How bad do things look for Apple and its alleged partners in crime? Publishers have been down this road with DOJ before and no doubt have long had their defenses planned. The most likely outcome is a negotiated settlement resulting in a consent decree.