Trump sues Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase for alleged 'political' account closures
President Donald Trump on Thursday sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon for $5 billion, alleging the bank closed his accounts for "political and social motivations," according to a court filing.
The lawsuit says that in early 2021, the bank notified Trump and his businesses that several of his accounts would close after decades at the bank. That came in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
In a statement to ABC News, JPMorgan said the suit has "no merit," and it will fight it in court.
The lawsuit says JPMorgan Chase, or JPMC, made a "unilateral decision" about the Trump-related accounts, which the bank targeted on account of its "unsubstantiated, 'woke' beliefs."
"In essence, JPMC debanked Plaintiffs' Accounts because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so."
Trish Wexler, a spokesperson for JPMorgan, refuted that the bank shuts down accounts for political reasons.
"JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons. We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company. We regret having to do so but often rules and regulatory expectations lead us to do so," Wexler said.
"We respect the President's right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves -- that's what courts are for," Wexler added.
Trump suggested in a social media post last week that he would take legal action.
"I'll be suing JPMorgan Chase over the next two weeks for incorrectly and inappropriately DEBANKING me after the January 6th protest," Trump said.
Last week, Dimon criticized the Trump administration's investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying chipping away at the Fed's independence could backfire on the economy.
At Davos this week, Dimon also criticized the president's proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates, saying it risks an "economic disaster." The measure would take away access to credit for 80% of Americans, Dimon said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates
