President Donald Trump has filed a sweeping $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and its chief executive Jamie Dimon, accusing the nation’s largest bank of unlawfully severing business ties with him and his affiliated entities in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
Filed in Florida state court, the lawsuit alleges that JPMorgan improperly terminated Trump’s banking relationships for political reasons in early 2021. According to the complaint, the bank notified Trump, his family members, and multiple Trump-affiliated businesses in February 2021 that their accounts would be closed within 60 days.
Trump’s legal team claims that the account closures were part of a broader campaign of “political discrimination” against the former president and his business network. The suit further alleges that Trump and his associated entities were placed on an internal “blacklist,” effectively preventing them from accessing wealth management services and discouraging other financial institutions from doing business with them.
The complaint asserts that this alleged blacklisting caused lasting financial and reputational harm. It also claims that Trump personally contacted Dimon regarding the closures and was assured the CEO would look into the matter — but that no follow-up ever occurred.
“Trump and his businesses have subsequently learned that they were debanked as a result of political discrimination,” the lawsuit states, arguing that the bank failed to provide a legitimate reason for terminating the accounts.
JPMorgan Pushes Back
JPMorgan has strongly rejected the allegations, calling the lawsuit baseless and pledging to fight it in court.
“While we regret President Trump has sued us, we believe the suit has no merit,” said Trish Wexler, a spokesperson for the bank. “We respect the President’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves — that’s what courts are for.”
Wexler emphasized that JPMorgan does not close accounts for political or religious reasons, but rather due to legal, regulatory, and risk-related concerns.
“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 that decision.”
The bank also noted that it has long urged both current and previous U.S. administrations to reform financial regulations that force banks into difficult client decisions. JPMorgan, like several major financial institutions, has expressed support for efforts to prevent what it describes as the “weaponization” of the banking system.
A Broader Pattern of Legal Battles
Trump’s lawsuit against JPMorgan is the latest in a growing list of high-profile legal actions he has launched against critics and perceived adversaries. In recent years, Trump has sought billions of dollars in damages from major media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CBS, and the BBC.
The case also comes just one day after Dimon publicly criticized a Trump-backed proposal to impose a 10% cap on credit card interest rates. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Dimon warned that such a cap “would be an economic disaster” and could significantly limit access to credit for millions of Americans.
The ‘Debanking’ Debate
Trump has repeatedly raised concerns about what he calls “debanking” — the alleged practice of financial institutions cutting off services to individuals or organizations based on political or ideological beliefs.
He has previously accused both JPMorgan and Bank of America of denying him services after his first presidential term ended. During a prior appearance at the World Economic Forum, Trump publicly criticized Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, urging banks to “open their doors to conservatives.”
In August, Trump signed an executive order seeking to penalize banks that restrict services based on political or religious viewpoints. However, legal experts note that Americans do not have a guaranteed right to a bank account, and that financial institutions routinely deny or close accounts to comply with complex regulatory frameworks designed to prevent fraud, money laundering, and systemic financial risk.
Legal Experts Question the Case
Several legal scholars have expressed skepticism about the merits of Trump’s lawsuit.
“President Trump’s lawsuit is frivolous,” said Peter Conti-Brown, a professor of financial regulation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “The president’s record of stiffing business partners and evading debtor responsibilities is long and storied. No bank should be forced to do business with a financial risk like that.”
Jeremy Kress, a business law professor at the University of Michigan, described the lawsuit as “pretty unusual,” pointing out the irony of Trump suing JPMorgan while his appointed regulators are pursuing financial deregulation.
“It’s ironic for the President to be suing JPMorgan at the same time that his hand-picked regulators are aggressively deregulating big banks,” Kress said.
As the case unfolds, it is expected to intensify the ongoing national debate over political bias in banking, corporate risk management, and the legal boundaries of financial institutions in choosing their clients.
