Trump to sue JPMorgan over ‘debanking’
US President Donald Trump says he will sue JPMorgan Chase, accusing the lender of “debanking” him following the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot.
Trump’s supporters stormed the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C., protesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump claimed the investment bank closed or restricted his accounts after the unrest, cutting him off from longstanding banking relationships, and described the move as politically motivated retaliation carried out under pressure from then President Joe Biden’s administration.
“I’ll be suing JPMorgan Chase over the next two weeks for incorrectly and inappropriately DEBANKING me after the January 6th Protest, a protest that turned out to be correct for those doing the protesting,” Trump wrote. “The Election was RIGGED!”
JPMorgan has denied the accusations. “While we won’t get specific about a client, we don’t close accounts because of political beliefs,” spokesperson Trish Wexler said on Saturday, adding: “We appreciate that this Administration has moved to address political debanking and we support those efforts.”
Trump also criticized a Wall Street Journal report that claimed he had offered JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon the job of Federal Reserve chair, saying it was “totally untrue” and that there was “never such an offer.”
Trump said the WSJ did not contact him to verify the report, adding that he would have quickly responded “NO” and “that would have been the end of the story.” He denied making any offer to Dimon, adding that it was not even “thought of,” and accused the outlet of poor “fact checking,” warning that its already “strained credibility” would continue to “DIVE.”
In August, Trump signed an executive order requiring banks to ensure they do not deny financial services based on clients’ religious or political beliefs, a practice known as “debanking.”
He later told CNBC that banks had discriminated against him, claiming that JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America refused his deposits after his first term.
JPMorgan said it does not close accounts for political reasons, while Bank of America said it does not comment on client matters and would welcome clearer regulatory guidance.
