Trump sues JPMorgan Chase and Jamie Dimon for $5 billion, alleging "political" debanking
President Trump sued JPMorgan Chase Bank and its CEO Jamie Dimon for $5 billion in Florida, Thursday, alleging that the bank had closed his accounts in 2021 "as a result of political and social motivations."
The suit, filed in Florida state court in Miami-Dade County, claims that Mr. Trump and his hospitality companies "suffered considerable financial harm and losses" in early 2021 when he and his companies were debanked, because of what the suit called JPMorgan Chase's "woke beliefs." Debanking occurs when financial institutions refuse to work with individuals or businesses or abruptly close clients' accounts.
One of Mr. Trump's personal lawyers, Alejandro Brito, alleged the debanking had a "devastating impact" on the ability of Mr. Trump and his businesses to transact and access assets, and caused "extensive reputational harm by being forced to reach out to other financial institutions in an effort to move their funds and accounts, making it clear that they had been debanked by JPMC." The president's companies were given notice in February 2021 they should take their business elsewhere, the lawsuit says.
The suit also alleges that Mr. Trump, his family, and businesses were blacklisted by the bank. It claims JPMorgan Chase urged other financial institutions "to not carry on business relationships," with them, forcing the Trumps and their businesses to accept a "limited menu of options and less advantageous terms" at other banks.
JPMorgan Chase said the suit is meritless.
"While we regret President Trump has sued us, we believe the suit has no merit," a spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase said in a statement. "We respect the president's right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves — that's what courts are for."
"JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons," the bank added. "We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company. We regret having to do so but often rules and regulatory expectations lead us to do so. We have been asking both this administration and prior administrations to change the rules and regulations that put us in this position, and we support the administration's efforts to prevent the weaponization of the banking sector."
The suit was filed the same day the president left the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Dimon also spoke.
Mr. Trump raised the threat of a lawsuit over the weekend. On Saturday, he said in a post on Truth Social, "I'll be suing JPMorgan Chase over the next two weeks for incorrectly and inappropriately DEBANKING me after the January 6th Protest, a protest that turned out to be correct for those doing the protesting," Mr. Trump said in a social media post. "The Election was RIGGED!"
Debanking has been a focus for the administration for months. In August, the president signed an executive order that alleged that "financial institutions have engaged in unacceptable practices to restrict law-abiding individuals' and businesses' access to financial services on the basis of political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities." It also directed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to investigate the matter.
The OCC's preliminary report, issued in December, said it had found early evidence that nine of the biggest U.S. banks — including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America — had improperly refused to do business with a range of industries. The six-page report did not identify clients who had been debanked or the institutions alleged to have engaged in the practice.
"While the OCC is releasing preliminary findings, its work continues to better understand the full extent and effect of these actions and their impact on affected industries and the American economy," the comptroller of the currency said in a statement. "The OCC is also still reviewing thousands of complaints to identify instances of political and religious debanking, which it will report on in due course and as appropriate."
