President says bank’s ‘woke’ beliefs and political and social motivations led it to shut accounts after the Capitol riot
President Trump has launched a new lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and its chief executive officer Jamie Dimon, alleging the bank debanked him five years ago for political reasons.
A suit filed in state court in Miami-Dade County on Thursday seeks at least $5 billion in civil damages for Trump and other plaintiffs, claiming the bank’s alleged “woke” beliefs led to the closure of his accounts and those of related entities after the January 6, 2021 riot at the capital.
“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 reads.
Trump announced earlier this week that he intended to sue the banking giant, which is one of the largest mortgage lenders in the US, for the alleged account closure.
The lawsuit claimed the bank closed accounts “because it believed the political tide at the moment favored doing so,” and described the alleged debanking as part of “a growing trend by financial institutions in the United States of America to cut off a consumer’s access to banking services if they political views contradict with those of the financial institution.”
A complicated relationship deteriorates further
Dimon was reportedly considered by the Trump administration last year for the Treasury secretary post, while both Trump and JPMorgan have refuted claims that he was offered the role of Federal Reserve chair.
But on Wednesday, Dimon broke with other top corporate leaders by criticizing a Trump policy, questioning whether the president’s hardline approach to immigration was the right one.
“I don’t like what I’m seeing, with five grown men beating up little women,” he said during a panel interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “So I think we should calm down a little bit on the internal anger about immigration.”
He also warned of an “economic disaster” if Trump’s call for a 10% cap on credit card interest rates went ahead because it could prevent a large number of Americans from accessing credit.
Thursday’s lawsuit looks set to further inflame tensions between Dimon, long viewed as one of the most influential executives in corporate America, and Trump.
It claimed Dimon authorized placing Trump, his family and businesses on a JPMorgan “blacklist” related to wealth management accounts and said that action discouraged other financial institutions from dealing with Trump and plaintiffs.
Trish Wexler, a JPMorgan spokesperson, said the bank respected Trump’s right to sue and its own right to defend itself, while also addressing its right to shutter accounts.
“We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company,” she said. “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.”
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