President Donald Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon on Thursday, seeking $5 billion in civil damages and accusing the bank of closing his accounts for “political and social motivations,” according to a court filing.
The lawsuit alleges that in early 2021—shortly after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol—JPMorgan notified Trump and his businesses that several accounts would be shut down, ending a banking relationship the filing describes as spanning decades.
In a statement to ABC News, JPMorgan rejected the claims, saying the lawsuit has “no merit” and that the company plans to contest it in court.
The complaint argues the bank made a “unilateral decision” to terminate Trump-related accounts, describing the move as driven by what it calls “unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs.” The lawsuit adds that JPMorgan “debanked” the accounts because it believed “the political tide at the moment favored doing so.”
JPMorgan spokesperson Trish Wexler denied the bank closes accounts for political reasons.
“JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons,” Wexler said. “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.”
“We respect the President’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves — that’s what courts are for,” Wexler added.
Trump had foreshadowed the lawsuit in a social media post last week, saying he planned to sue the bank for “incorrectly and inappropriately DEBANKING” him following the Jan. 6 protest.
The lawsuit lands amid recent, public friction between Dimon and Trump’s policy agenda. Last week, Dimon criticized the administration’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, warning that weakening the Fed’s independence could ultimately hurt the economy.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, Dimon also took aim at Trump’s proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates, arguing it could trigger an “economic disaster” by reducing access to credit for a large share of Americans.
