President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking $5 billion in civil damages from JPMorgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, alleging they closed his and related entities’ accounts in early 2021 for political reasons after being customers of the bank for decades.
CNBC reported that the closures came after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol, and the president left the White House later that same month after his loss to former President Joe Biden was confirmed.
On Thursday, JPMorgan denied that it closed Trump’s accounts for political reasons, and suggested that the closures were due to federal rules and regulations that it has sought to change during this and previous presidential administrations.
“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 alleges.
Claims Political Discrimination
“In essence, JPMC debanked Plaintiffs’ Accounts because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in state court in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
The suit says JPMorgan failed to disclose why the bank was terminating the accounts, but that the “plaintiffs have subsequently learned that they were debanked as a result of political discrimination against President Trump, the Trump Organization, its affiliated entities, and/or the Trump family.”
CNBC said the lawsuit does not detail what the plaintiffs learned that substantiates that claim.
The lawsuit also alleges that JPMorgan’s “reckless decision is leading a growing trend by financial institutions in the United States of America to cut off a consumer’s access to banking services if their political views contradict with those of the financial institution.”
In addition to alleging motivations for the closures, the lawsuit says that Trump and the plaintiffs “have recently learned that JPMC — at the direction of Dimon — “has unlawfully and unjustifiably published some or all of their names, including the names of President Trump, the Trump Organization with its affiliated entities, and/or the Trump family, on a blacklist.”
CNBC said that alleged blackist is accessible by federally regulated banks “and is comprised of individuals and entities that have a history of malfeasant acts and are otherwise non-compliant with applicable banking rules and regulations,” the suit says, while stating that the plaintiffs “have always complied” with banking rules and regulations.
CNBC reported that the complaint does not give a formal name for that blacklist or indicate that it was part of a government regulatory apparatus.
The lawsuit alleges trade libel and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by JPMorgan.
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