Trump threatens to sue JPMorgan Chase for ‘debanking’ him after Jan. 6
President Trump Threatens to Sue JPMorgan Chase Over Account Closure
President Trump has intensified his feud with JPMorgan Chase by threatening to take legal action against the banking giant within the next two weeks. The dispute arose after JPMorgan closed Trump’s accounts following the Capitol riots on January 6, allegedly under pressure from the Biden administration.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump criticized JPMorgan for “incorrectly and inappropriately debanking” him in the aftermath of the protests. He claimed that the decision to close his accounts, which he had held for decades, came with a tight deadline of just 20 days to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars.
Trump’s lawsuit threat comes amidst JPMorgan’s criticism of the Trump Justice Department’s probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned against undermining the Fed’s independence, citing potential consequences on inflation expectations and interest rates.
Meanwhile, the White House has proposed capping credit card interest rates at 10% for a year, a move that JPMorgan executives fear could limit access to credit and harm consumers.
Trump’s legal threat against JPMorgan stems from his abrupt removal from the bank after leaving office in 2021, an action he believes was politically motivated. JPMorgan, along with Bank of America, severed ties with Trump following the Capitol riot, influenced by regulatory pressure from the Biden administration.
Sources familiar with the decision indicated that Trump’s continued banking relationships could pose compliance issues related to reputational risks, prompting the account closures by JPMorgan and other banks.
JPMorgan has maintained that its decisions are not politically motivated but acknowledged the impact of reputational risk considerations during that period of heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Trump views the account closures as a form of financial punishment and has expressed his discontent with JPMorgan’s actions. The former president also refuted claims that he offered the Federal Reserve chair position to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, dismissing such reports as “totally untrue.”
The Wall Street Journal, owned by Dow Jones and a subsidiary of News Corp (The Post’s parent company), stood by its reporting on the matter.
