U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, accusing the country’s largest lender of unlawfully closing his bank accounts in what he describes as politically motivated “debanking.”
According to a report by Fox Business, Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Florida state court in Miami on behalf of the president and several of his hospitality companies. The suit alleges that JPMorgan violated its own code of conduct by terminating multiple accounts without warning or offering any remedy.
“Despite claiming to hold these principles dear, JPMC violated them by unilaterally — and without warning or remedy — terminating several of Plaintiff’s bank accounts,” the lawsuit states, according to the report.
Trump had said over the weekend that he planned to sue JPMorgan within two weeks, linking the alleged account closures to the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
JPMorgan rejected the accusations, saying the lawsuit is without merit. “While we regret President Trump has sued us, we believe the suit has no merit. We respect the President’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves,” the bank said in a statement.
The lender denied that political or religious considerations played any role in its actions. “JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons. We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company,” the statement said, adding that regulatory expectations sometimes force such decisions.
The White House said it would refer the matter to Trump’s outside legal counsel. Reuters said it could not independently verify the Fox Business report.
The case comes amid a broader political debate over “debanking.” Last month, a U.S. banking regulator said the nine largest U.S. banks had previously restricted financial services to certain controversial industries. Banks have faced mounting pressure from conservative politicians who argue that lenders have adopted “woke” positions and discriminated against sectors such as firearms and fossil fuels — claims the banks have consistently denied.
