US President Donald Trump Warns To Sue JPMorgan Chase For ‘Debanking’ Him

Donald Trump said on Saturday that Trump plans to sue JPMorgan Chase within two weeks, accusing the bank of wrongly closing Trump's accounts after the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot and linking the move to what Trump calls political "debanking" by major financial institutions.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed JPMorgan acted against Trump for political reasons and again repeated false claims about the 2020 presidential election result from which Trump was removed after one term in office.

Trump JPMorgan debanking dispute and planned lawsuit

"I'll 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," Trump said in a social media post. "The Election was RIGGED!"

JPMorgan and the White House did not immediately answer questions from CNBC about the allegation. The bank has previously said it does not close accounts for political reasons, while officials at the White House also stayed silent over the specific claims made in Trump's latest message.

Trump JPMorgan debanking claims and executive order

The legal threat follows an August executive order signed by Trump that requires banks to check that customers are not denied services because of political or religious beliefs, a practice often described as "debanking," which Trump has repeatedly condemned in interviews and public speeches.

During a CNBC interview in August, Trump alleged, without presenting supporting documents, that banks had discriminated against Trump personally after Trump left office. Trump said JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America would not accept Trump's deposits following Trump's first term, suggesting political motives behind those reported refusals.

Bank of America declined to comment on individual client situations at that time but said it would welcome clearer regulatory instructions on how banks should handle such matters. JPMorgan's earlier statement stressed that account closures were not based on political views, though the bank did not address Trump's new comments directly.

Trump JPMorgan debanking row and family shift to crypto

Members of the Trump family have often criticised large banks over access to financial services, arguing that their politics created barriers. Last year, Donald Trump Jr. described difficulties in obtaining "big bank" services and said that experience pushed the family towards digital assets and alternative systems outside traditional banking.

"So, [my family] got into crypto, not because it was like, 'hey, this is the next cool thing,' we got into it out of necessity," Trump Jr. told CNBC in an interview last June. The comments highlighted long-running tensions between the Trumps and major financial institutions, including JPMorgan and Bank of America.

Trump JPMorgan debanking dispute, markets and rate cap demand

JPMorgan shares have dropped about 5% over the past week, even though the bank on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded analyst estimates. The broader banking sector also slipped, with investors reacting to new credit card proposals from Trump that would affect banks' future profit margins.

The share decline followed Trump's demand that credit card interest rates be capped at 10%, with financial firms given until 20 January to comply. Markets weighed the possible impact on lenders such as JPMorgan and Bank of America, even as those firms evaluated how to respond to the proposed ceiling.

The Journal said Dimon viewed the suggestion as a joke, citing unnamed sources familiar with the meeting. The reported exchange drew public interest because current Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term ends on 15 May, and speculation has grown about potential successors and the direction of future monetary policy.

Trump used the same Truth Social post to dispute the Journal story and restate concerns about Dimon and JPMorgan. "This statement is totally untrue, there was never such an offer," he wrote. "Why wouldn't The Wall Street Journal call me to ask whether or not such an offer was made? I would have very quickly told them, "NO," and that would have been the end of the story."