JPMorgan Chase has, for the first time, acknowledged that it terminated the bank accounts of President Donald Trump and several of his companies following the political and legal fallout from the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. This marks the latest turn in a legal dispute between the former president and the nation’s largest bank concerning the practice referred to as “debanking.”
This admission was made in a court document filed this week as part of Trump’s lawsuit against the financial institution and its CEO, Jamie Dimon. The lawsuit contends that the closure of his accounts was politically motivated and caused significant disruption to his business activities.
“In February 2021, JPMorgan informed Plaintiffs that certain accounts maintained with JPMorgan’s CB and PB would be closed,” wrote Dan Wilkening, the bank’s former chief administrative officer, in the filing. The abbreviations “PB” and “CB” refer to JPMorgan’s private bank and commercial bank divisions, respectively.
Previously, JPMorgan had never formally confirmed in writing that it closed the president’s accounts after January 6. The bank typically only discussed its general policies for account closures in hypothetical terms, often citing customer privacy regulations.
A bank spokesperson declined to provide any further comment beyond the statements included in the legal documents.
Trump initially filed the lawsuit in a Florida state court, which is where he currently maintains his primary residence. The recent filings are part of JPMorgan Chase’s strategy to have the case transferred from state to federal court and to move the jurisdiction to New York, where the accounts were held and where Trump conducted much of his business until recently.
The original suit accused the bank of trade libel and of breaching both state and federal laws against unfair and deceptive trade practices.
According to the initial lawsuit, Trump attempted to address the matter personally with Dimon after receiving account closure notices, and Dimon reportedly assured him he would look into the situation. The legal claim states that Dimon did not subsequently follow up with Trump.
Additionally, Trump’s legal team alleges that JPMorgan placed the former president and his companies on a “blacklist” based on reputational concerns, a list purportedly used by JPMorgan and other banks to prevent certain clients from opening new accounts in the future. The specific nature of this alleged blacklist has not yet been detailed by Trump’s lawyers.
“If and when Plaintiffs explain what they mean by this ‘blacklist,’ JPMorgan will respond accordingly,” the bank’s attorneys stated in a court filing.
JPMorgan has previously stated that, while it regrets that Trump felt compelled to sue, it believes the lawsuit is without merit.
The core of the legal battle revolves around the concept of debanking. This term describes when a bank terminates a customer’s accounts or refuses to provide services like loans. Once a niche financial issue, debanking has become a prominent topic in recent years, with conservative politicians claiming that banks are discriminating against them and their associated interests.
“In a devastating concession that proves President Trump’s entire claim, JPMorgan Chase admitted to unlawfully and intentionally de-banking President Trump, his family, and his businesses, causing overwhelming financial harm,” Trump’s lawyers said in a statement. “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.”
Debanking first gained national attention when conservatives alleged that the Obama administration pressured banks to deny services to gun stores and payday lenders through an initiative called “Operation Choke Point.”
Trump and other conservative leaders have claimed that financial institutions severed their banking relationships using the justification of “reputational risk” following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Since returning to public office, Trump’s banking regulators have taken steps to prohibit banks from using “reputational risk” as grounds for denying service to customers.
This lawsuit is not the first of its kind filed by Trump against a major bank. The Trump Organization initiated a similar suit against credit card company Capital One in March 2025, leveling comparable accusations. That case is still proceeding.