President Donald Trump is suing JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, for allegedly “debanking” him and his eponymous real estate and hotel business by closing their accounts in the wake of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The $5 billion legal action was filed Thursday in a Florida state court in Miami by Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, who in court papers accused the bank of having “violated [its] principles by unilaterally – and without warning or remedy – terminating several of Plaintiff’s bank accounts.”
Trump had signaled his intent to sue the bank over the weekend in a Truth Social post claiming he was “debanked” for political reasons, joining a host of right-wing figures who claim — without evidence — that large financial institutions have made a practice of systematically refusing to do business with them for political reasons.
His complaint accuses JPMorgan Chase and CEO Jamie Dimon of “political discrimination” against him, his family and his businesses and casts the bank’s move as an outgrowth of an Obama administration effort to combat bank fraud and a host of other financial crimes which conservatives claim was a political effort to harm disfavored industries, such as firearms manufacturers and payday lenders.
It also claims that the president’s family and related entities were blacklisted by JPMorgan Chase by including them on a list that is available to other banks and accused the bank of doing so to induce other banks to refuse to do business with the Trumps.
The bank denied the allegations in a statement in which it said it “does not close accounts for political or religious reasons” but does do so when accounts “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,” the bank said.
“While we regret President Trump has sued us, we believe the suit has no merit. We respect the President’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves.”
The practice of “debanking” – where financial institutions restrict services to certain industries – has drawn scrutiny. Last month, a US banking regulator noted that nine of the largest US banks had previously imposed such restrictions.
Banks have increasingly faced political pressure, particularly from conservatives who argue that lenders adopt “woke” political stances and discriminate against sectors like firearms and fossil fuels.
The lawsuit is the latest example of Trump’s campaign of retaliation and retribution against institutions and individuals who he feels have unfairly targeted him or his family.
In November, the bank said in a regulatory filing that the administration is investigating it for alleged “viewpoint-based debunking,” and Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould, a Trump appointee, has said that the little-known Treasury Department agency is “working to root out bank activities that unlawfully debank or discriminate against customers on the basis of political or religious beliefs, or lawful business activities.”
