In February 2021, JPMorgan Chase communicated to former President Donald Trump and his hospitality business that it would be closing their accounts, as revealed in newly released documents tied to a $5 billion lawsuit Trump has initiated against the bank and its CEO, Jamie Dimon. This decision came in the wake of widespread corporate backlash following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Other organizations also severed ties with Trump during this period, including multiple law firms that had previously represented him and the Trump Organization, as well as the PGA of America, which withdrew a scheduled championship from one of Trump’s golf clubs.
The official letters from JPMorgan to Trump and the Trump Organization did not specify reasons for the account closures. One letter stated that the bank can determine that a client’s interests “are no longer served by maintaining a relationship” with its private banking division. Despite multiple requests for comment, JPMorgan and its legal representatives did not immediately respond.
The bank has characterized Trump’s lawsuit as baseless, but a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team called the release of these letters a significant concession, arguing that it supports Trump’s allegations of unlawful discrimination in the banking relationship. The legal spokesperson claimed that JPMorgan admitted to intentionally de-banking Trump, which caused significant financial harm to him and his businesses.
Furthermore, Trump accuses JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S., of breaching its own policies by specifically targeting him for political reasons. The account closure letters have become part of JPMorgan’s strategy to shift Trump’s lawsuit from a federal court in Miami to one in New York, with the bank asserting that the ties to New York are substantial and warrant the change in venue.
