Former US President Donald Trump has filed a $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon, accusing America’s largest bank of “debanking” him in the wake of the January 6th Capitol attack.
In the lawsuit filed in Miami, Trump’s lawyers allege that JPMorgan Chase put the former president, his organization, and his family members on a blacklist, cutting off their banking services for political and social reasons. The bank has denied the claims, stating that accounts are only closed due to legal or regulatory risks, not for political or religious motives.
This legal action comes after Trump previously accused several banks, including JPMorgan and Bank of America, of rejecting his deposits following the January 6th insurrection, though the banks have refuted these allegations.
The former president has long complained of being “debanked” by leading financial institutions due to his conservative political views, echoing similar claims made by other prominent right-wing figures. In the UK, the former head of NatWest Group resigned in 2023 after admitting to providing inaccurate information about the bank’s decision to close Nigel Farage’s account.
In his lawsuit, Trump’s lawyers argue that JPMorgan’s “unilateral decision” to cut ties was driven by “political and social motivations” and the bank’s “unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs.” However, the bank maintains that it does not close accounts for political or religious reasons, but rather due to legal or regulatory risks.
The high-profile legal battle comes as Trump continues to face a range of legal challenges, including the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into his handling of presidential records. Meanwhile, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been a vocal critic of some of Trump’s economic policies, recently warning that the former president’s proposal to cap credit card interest rates could be an “economic disaster.”
