“Devastating” Discovery: New Docs Confirm JPMorgan De-Banked Trump Shortly After Jan 6th Capitol Chaos

New court documents released Friday show JPMorgan Chase told President Donald Trump a month after the January 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol that the bank was closing his accounts.

The disclosure was made amid a $5 billion lawsuit Trump filed against JPMorgan and its CEO Jamie Dimon.

JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, said for the first time late Friday that it cut off more than 50 Trump accounts in February 2021, shortly after Mr. Trump’s first term ended.

The accounts included those for Trump hotels, housing developments and retail shops in Illinois, Florida and New York, as well as Mr. Trump’s personal private banking relationship that handled his inheritance from his father, according to letters filed to the court.

JPMorgan did not specify in those letters a specific reason for the mass account closings.

In one unsigned note to Mr. Trump, dated Feb. 19, 2021, the bank wrote that he would need to “find a more suitable institution with which to conduct business.”

The letter closed with, “Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter” – a phrase that President Trump often uses.

As NYTimes reports, the President has maintained for years that his bank account closures were politically motivated, and a spokesperson for his legal team said the newest court documents are “a devastating concession that proves President Trump’s entire claim.”

“[JPMorgan] admitted to unlawfully and intentionally de-banking President Trump, his family, and ​his businesses, causing overwhelming financial harm,” the spokesperson said.

“President Trump is standing up for all those wrongly debanked by JPMorgan Chase and its cohorts, and will see this case to a just and proper conclusion.” the attorneys added. 

Mr. Trump’s lawsuit, which named Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, as a defendant, contended that the bank put Mr. Trump on a blacklist because it “needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views.”

That echoed earlier complaints from Mr. Trump that Capital One similarly closed his accounts and that Bank of America refused to accept billions of dollars in deposits after the Jan. 6 riots.

The bank told The Epoch Times over email it will seek to dismiss the claims.

“Plaintiffs’ threadbare allegations do not allege sufficient facts to plead a claim,” the institution said.

JPMorgan told The Epoch Times last month that the case “has no merit.”

“[JPMorgan Chase] does not close accounts for political or religious reasons,” JPMorgan previously said.

“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.”

These comments were made last month, days after Trump announced on social media his intention to sue the bank.

Since then, Trump’s lawyers have alleged in court documents that JPMorgan closed the president’s accounts because of its “‘woke’ beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views.”

“In essence, [JPMorgan Chase] debanked Plaintiffs’ Accounts because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so,” the lawsuit states.

JPMorgan added it supports the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent the weaponization of the banking sector. 

There is still much legal wrangling to come. JPMorgan this past week asked that the case be moved from Florida state court, where Mr. Trump has had some success in litigation, to a federal court in New York.