JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) acknowledged in a court filing that it shut down bank accounts tied to President Donald Trump and several of his businesses after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, a point now sitting at the center of Trump’s $5 billion lawsuit against the lender and its chief executive. The admission lands as Trump has argued that the move was political “debanking” pushed by the Biden administration, saying he had about 20 days to shift hundreds of millions of dollars.
CNBC reports the bank’s filing includes a statement from former chief administrative officer Dan Wilkening saying that in February 2021, JPMorgan told the plaintiffs that certain accounts held with its private bank and commercial bank would be closed. The filing marks the first time the bank has explicitly said it closed those accounts, after previously addressing the topic only in general terms.
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Trump’s attorneys argued the filing is a major win for their side, saying, “In a devastating concession that proves President Trump’s entire claim, JPMorgan Chase admitted to unlawfully and intentionally de-banking President Trump, his family, and his businesses, causing overwhelming financial harm.”
The bank is seeking to relocate the litigation to New York, citing the location of the accounts and Trump’s longstanding business ties to the state. The legal battle is emerging amid growing political debate over “debanking,” a term once limited to industry jargon.
Earlier, Trump cited what he described as government pressure, alleging that the Biden administration influenced the account closures after Jan. 6. Separately, CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that undermining the Federal Reserve’s independence could raise inflation expectations and interest rates, comments that emerged as JPMorgan criticized a Trump-era Justice Department criminal investigation involving Jerome Powell.
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This legal battle comes as JPMorgan’s legal team argued that President Trump’s lawsuit incorrectly includes Dimon, claiming he was named “fraudulently” to prevent the case from being moved to federal court. The bank’s lawyers asserted that the Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act does not apply to federally regulated bank executives acting in their official capacity, emphasizing the inapplicability of the claims against Dimon.
Additionally, the legal team refuted Trump’s allegations that his debanking was politically motivated, stating that the lawsuit lacks sufficient facts to establish claims of a reputational blacklist. This backdrop highlights the complexities surrounding the lawsuit, as JPMorgan seeks to shift the case from Florida state court to the jurisdiction more aligned with its operational history in New York, where the accounts were held historically noted.
After Jan. 6, Trump and other conservatives said banks used reputational risk to cut ties, prompting regulators to restrict that practice. Meanwhile, the White House floated a 10% cap on credit card rates, which JPMorgan warned could limit lending and hurt consumers.
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Earlier in January, Trump wrote in a post, “Ill 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,” while framing the closures as an effort to squeeze him financially. He also claimed the account shutdown left him limited time to move large sums of money.
Trump’s post also took aim at Dimon, adding, “One was led to believe that I offered Jamie Dimon the job of Secretary of the Treasury, but that would be one that he would be very interested in. The problem is, I have Scott Bessent doing a fantastic job, A SUPERSTAR — Why would I give it to Jamie? No such offer was made there, or even thought of, either.”
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