US President Donald Trump has sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon, accusing the bank of shutting down his accounts for political reasons, Bloomberg reported. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the Florida state court in Miami-Dade County. Trump and several business entities linked to him are asking for at least $5 billion in damages.
The case follows JPMorgan’s decision to close Trump’s accounts in early 2021, shortly after the January 6 riot at the US Capitol carried out by Trump supporters. The closures also came just weeks after Trump left the White House following his election loss to former President Joe Biden.
JPMorgan Chase has strongly denied Trump’s claims and said it will fight the lawsuit in court. “While we regret President Trump has sued us, we believe the suit has no merit,” said Trish Wexler, a spokesperson for JPMorgan to CNN. “We respect the President’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves, that’s what courts are for.”
Trump sues JPMorgan and Jamie Dimon over closed bank accounts
Speaking to reporters in Switzerland on Wednesday, Trump criticised Dimon, just hours after the lawsuit was filed. “He debanked me,” Trump said when asked about the JPMorgan CEO. “He shouldn’t be debanking,” Trump added. “It’s so wrong.” Trump went further, saying, “Jamie Dimon is not allowed to do what he did.”
According to Trump and the other plaintiff, they had been JPMorgan customers for decades before the bank suddenly ended the relationship. According to the lawsuit, reviewed by CNN, JPMorgan never clearly explained why the accounts were being shut. Trump claimed the real reason was politics.
The complaint stated that Trump personally contacted Dimon about the account closures. According to the lawsuit, Dimon told Trump he would look into the matter and get back to him, but never did.
“Plaintiffs are confident that JPMC’s unilateral decision came about as a result of political and social motivations, and JPMC’s unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views,” the lawsuit read, according to CNN.
The complaint further added, “In essence, JPMC debanked Plaintiffs’ Accounts because it believed that the political tide at the moment favoured doing so.” The lawsuit also claimed that Trump and his businesses later learned they were targeted because of “political discrimination against President Trump, the Trump Organisation, its affiliated entities, and/or the Trump family.” However, it does not spell out exactly what evidence led them to that conclusion.
Allegations of a secret blacklist
According to CNN, one of the strongest claims in the lawsuit is that JPMorgan, under Dimon’s direction, placed Trump and related entities on a blacklist. The complaint stated this blacklist is shared among federally regulated banks and includes individuals or companies accused of misconduct or non-compliance with banking rules.
Trump has denied those allegations. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs “have always complied” with banking rules and regulations and that putting them on such a list was unlawful and unjustified.
The lawsuit was filed just one day after Jamie Dimon spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he criticised one of Trump’s policy ideas. Dimon said Trump’s proposal to cap credit card interest rates at 10% “would be an economic disaster” because it could cut many Americans off from access to credit.
JPMorgan rejects the allegations
In its statement to CNN, a spokesperson of JPMorgan said the bank does not close accounts for political or religious reasons. “We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company.”
The spokesperson added, “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 weaponisation of the banking sector.”
Trump’s lawsuit claimed JPMorgan has “a notable history of debanking entities and individuals that have conservative political beliefs.” Trump has made similar accusations in the past against both JPMorgan and Bank of America, saying they refused to do business with him after his first term as president ended.
Trump had flagged the possibility before, and this lawsuit is the latest in a long line of legal fights against critics, with damage claims worth billions, including cases against CBS, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC.