JPMorgan Chase Breaks Silence on Trump Debanking Controversy - Newsweek

JPMorgan Chase acknowledged that it closed several bank accounts tied to President Donald Trump and some of his businesses in February 2021, about a month after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.

The filings come as part of an ongoing legal saga between the bank and the president over “debanking,” the sudden closure of an individual or organization’s bank account by the financial entity.

Why It Matters

The January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol occurred after thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump gathered in Washington, D.C., to protest the certification of the 2020 election, which he claimed, without evidence, was stolen.

Following a rally near the White House, a portion of the crowd marched to the Capitol, breached security and disrupted the joint session of Congress, forcing lawmakers to flee and leaving multiple people dead and more than 140 officers injured.

Trump has repeatedly said he is being treated unfairly for political reasons, casting some investigations and lawsuits against him as “witch hunts” and criticizing what he calls “woke” culture.

What to Know

Court documents say Trump maintained accounts at JPMorgan Chase dating back to at least 1986, until February 2021, when the bank sent letters saying it “has decided to close its banking relationship with The Trump Corporation and its affiliated entities,” per the Friday court filing.

The bank’s letter, addressed to Jeffrey McConney, corporate controller at the Trump Organization, was dated February 19, 2021. It provided a two-month grace period for the affiliated accounts to transfer, writing, “Please transfer your Accounts to another institution, or let us know where we should transfer the holdings in your Accounts, as soon as possible."

"We will continue to maintain your Accounts and related services until April 19, 2021," McConney added.

JPMorgan Chase's statement comes shortly after Trump and his affected businesses filed against the institution and it’s CEO Jamie Dimon in January 2026, arguing that “Plaintiffs are confident that JPMC’s unilateral decision came about as a result of political and social motivations, and JPMC’s unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views. In essence, JPMC debanked Plaintiffs’ Accounts because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so.”

Trump’s lawsuit seeks $5 billion in damages from JPMorgan Chase. He originally filed the lawsuit in Florida state court, but JP Morgan Chase is seeking to move the case from state to federal court and change jurisdiction to New York, which is where the bank accounts were located and where Trump conducted much of his business until recently.

Trump accused the bank of trade libel and violating state and federal unfair and deceptive trade practices, according to the Associated Press.

What People Are Saying

President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on January 17: "A front page Article in The Fake News Wall Street Journal states, without any verification, that I offered Jamie Dimon, of JPMorgan Chase, the job of Fed Chairman. This statement is totally untrue, there was never such an offer and, in fact, 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 — The Election was RIGGED!"

"Also, 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," Trump added.