President Donald Trump has initiated legal action against JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, and its Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon.
The lawsuit, filed in a Florida state court, alleges the bank improperly terminated its client relationship with the former President and his businesses for political motivations.
The suit seeks damages amounting to $5 billion. It states that in February 2021, the bank notified President Trump and his various commercial entities of its decision to close their accounts, providing a 60-day notice before the action took effect.
Furthermore, the complaint charges that Trump, his family, and his businesses were placed on a restrictive “blacklist” by JPMorgan “for any wealth management accounts that they have title to.”
It alleges this blacklisting was authorised directly by Dimon and resulted in other financial institutions refusing to engage with the plaintiffs.
The filing contends the bank failed to furnish a valid reason for terminating the accounts.
According to the lawsuit, President Trump and his businesses “have subsequently learned that they were debanked as a result of political discrimination against President Trump, the Trump Organisation, its affiliated entities, and/or the Trump family.”
It also details that President Trump personally contacted Dimon regarding the account closures and was assured the matter would be addressed. The suit claims Dimon “ultimately, never did” follow up.
A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase, Trish Wexler, stated the lawsuit is without merit. “While we regret President Trump has sued us, we believe the suit has no merit,” she said. “We respect the President’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves – that’s what courts are for.”
Wexler emphasised that 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,” she explained, adding support for efforts to prevent the “weaponisation of the banking sector.”
However, President Trump’s lawsuit asserts that JPMorgan Chase “has a notable history of debanking entities and individuals that have conservative political beliefs.”
The legal action arrives one day after Mr. Dimon, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, criticised a Trump proposal to cap credit card interest rates, calling it a potential “economic disaster.”
It also follows a pattern of litigation by President Trump against various critics and media entities.
Academic experts questioned the suit’s foundation. Peter Conti-Brown, a professor at Wharton, called it “frivolous,” citing Trump’s “long and storied” record as a financial risk.
University of Michigan professor Jeremy Kress described the lawsuit as “pretty unusual,” noting the irony of the President suing a bank while his appointees pursue deregulation.
President Trump has previously criticised major banks for “debanking” conservatives and last year signed an executive order aiming to penalise banks for such practices. Banks maintain they operate within a complex regulatory framework and deny systemic bias against any political group.
