JPMorgan Chase has stated that President Trump continues to hold a personal account with the bank and that some plaintiffs from his $5 billion “debanking” lawsuit have opened new accounts, as the bank attempts to counter claims that it cut ties with him due to political motivations.
The bank’s attorneys argued in a filing to Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, “These allegations are untrue—one of President Trump’s personal accounts at JPMorgan is still active, and several plaintiffs have recently opened new accounts with us, as have some affiliates.”
Trump, along with nine businesses he controls, initiated a lawsuit against JPMorgan and CEO Jamie Dimon in January, asserting that their accounts were closed in 2021 for political reasons and that they were placed on a blacklist discouraging other institutions from working with them.
In his original lawsuit, Trump claimed he directly confronted Dimon regarding the account closures, and that Dimon promised to investigate the issue but failed to follow through.
However, JPMorgan contends that their account agreements permit them to close accounts for any reason, or even no reason at all.
The bank’s filing stated, “Even assuming the plaintiffs’ allegations are true for the sake of this motion, they still fail legally, as the terms of the account grant both parties the unrestricted right to close the accounts at any time.”
The bank claims Trump and his companies were informed on February 19, 2021, that their accounts would be closed, providing them with 60 days to find alternatives. The accounts were ultimately closed on April 19, 2021, nearly five years before the lawsuit was filed.
JPMorgan also asserts that the complaint does not specify what information was allegedly shared, when, or with which institutions.
Furthermore, the filing mentions that Trump did not name particular banks that refused him service due to the supposed blacklist.
JPMorgan’s legal team characterized the $5 billion claim as lacking sufficient evidence of financial damages and argued that the complaint does not sufficiently support a claim of trade libel.
They also argue that Trump’s companies delayed too long in bringing the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team responded, stating, “By their own admission, JPMorgan Chase, under CEO Jamie Dimon, unlawfully de-banked and blacklisted President Trump, his family, and multiple businesses, causing significant financial and reputational damage.” The statement emphasized that Trump aims to advocate for individuals he believes have been unjustly debanked by JPMorgan and is committed to seeing the case through to a fair conclusion.
This legal dispute arises as JPMorgan and other major banks are facing increased scrutiny following a federal report released on Wednesday, which revealed that some lenders denied services based on customers’ political or religious beliefs, or involvement in lawful but controversial businesses.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has also looked into other banks, including Bank of America, Citibank, and Wells Fargo, uncovering that vague policies regarding “reputation risk” sometimes impacted decisions to reject customers.
In response, JPMorgan stated that its policies prohibit discrimination based on political or religious views and acknowledged that a screening process at its former WePay subsidiary “did not meet our expectations.”
JPMorgan affirmed that they have addressed the issue and have since discontinued the service.
A spokesperson from JPMorgan directed inquiries to the court filings.
