On Thursday, President Donald Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon to the tune of $5 billion for allegedly debanking him over political reasons.
The president’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, filed the lawsuit Thursday morning in Florida on behalf of the president and several of his hospitality companies.
Brito quotes JPMorgan’s code of conduct, which states that the bank operates “with the highest level of integrity and ethical conduct.”
“We set high expectations and hold ourselves accountable. We do the right thing—not necessarily the easy or expedient thing. We abide by the letter and spirit of the laws and regulations everywhere we do business and have zero tolerance for unethical behavior,” the lawsuit states, citing the bank’s code of conduct.
“Despite claiming to hold these principles dear, JPMC violated them by unilaterally—and without warning or remedy—terminating several of Plaintiff’s bank accounts,” the lawsuit claims.
A JPMorgan Chase spokesperson told Fox Business, “While we regret President Trump has sued us, we believe the suit has no merit. We respect the President’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves – that’s what courts are for.
“JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons,” she continued, “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 have been asking both this administration and prior administrations to change the rules and regulations that put us in this position, and we support the Administration’s efforts to prevent the weaponization of the banking sector.”
Trump had been a customer of JPMorgan for decades, and he and his affiliated entities “have transacted hundreds of millions of dollars” through JPMorgan Chase, according to the lawsuit.
Trump’s lawyer said Feb. 19, 2021, was the day that “forever altered the dynamic of the parties’ relationship,” when the bank, allegedly “without warning or provocation,” notified Trump and his entities that several bank accounts they controlled, were beneficiaries of, and actively used to transact “would be closed just two months later, on April 19, 2021.”
