JPMorgan Chase has acknowledged that it terminated President Donald Trump’s bank accounts in the weeks following the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, an admission that surfaced amid a $5 billion lawsuit filed by the president last month.
In a recent court submission, Dan Wilkening, JPMorgan’s chief administrative officer for global banking, confirmed that the bank notified Trump and several of his hospitality businesses in February 2021 that certain accounts would be shut down. Copies of the bank’s letters are dated Feb. 19, 2021.
Fox Business reports on the legal complaint, which targets both the bank and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, and claims Trump was “debanked” for political reasons. According to the suit, the president’s legal team contends the bank effectively placed him on a “blacklist” because of his political status.
One letter, sent to Jeffrey McConney of The Trump Corporation, states, “JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (‘we’) has decided to close its banking relationship with The Trump Corporation and its affiliated entities.” A separate letter addressed to Trump reads, “We may determine that a client’s interests are no longer served by maintaining a relationship. … With that in mind, this letter is to respectfully inform you that we will need to end our current relationship.”
Wilkening said the bank coordinated with Trump and his companies to transfer remaining balances to other institutions, consistent with its standard account terms. The president and his affiliated entities were given until April 19, 2021, to move hundreds of millions of dollars before the closures took effect.
Trump’s attorneys have also alleged that Bank of America declined to accept sizable deposits when he sought alternative banking arrangements. Although the letters did not cite a specific reason for ending the relationship, Trump’s legal team argues the accounts were “unlawfully closed due to political discrimination.”
Court filings also note that Trump had banked with JPMorgan for decades and moved “hundreds of millions of dollars” through the institution. Account agreements provided to the court indicate JPMorgan may close accounts with or without cause, typically with at least 30 days’ written notice.