On January 18th local time, former US President Donald Trump threatened to file a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, alleging that the bank closed or restricted his accounts following the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
This move by Trump is widely seen as a political retaliation against a key supporter of Wall Street and the Federal Reserve, coming in the wake of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's recent public endorsement of Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Responding to prior reports that Trump had offered Dimon the position of Federal Reserve Chair, the former president posted online, accusing The Wall Street Journal of publishing unverified reports and stating that he "never made such an offer."
Trump further claimed that JPMorgan, the nation's largest bank, improperly severed its banking relationship with him after the January 6th attack on the Capitol. "I will be suing JPMorgan Chase in the next two weeks," Trump wrote in his post, adding, "The protesters were proven correct—the election was rigged!"
However, Trump did not provide any evidence to support these allegations.
JPMorgan has explicitly denied the related accusations, stating that it does not terminate client services based on political affiliations.
In a statement, JPMorgan spokesperson Trish Wexler said, "It is a privilege to serve more than 80 million Americans. We also agree that no one's account should be closed due to their political or religious beliefs. We appreciate that this administration has taken action to address political 'de-banking' and support these efforts."
In fact, the tension between Trump and JPMorgan is unfolding against the backdrop of his continued attacks on Chair Powell.
Powell is currently facing a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice concerning the alleged "misuse of taxpayer funds" involved in the renovation project of the Federal Reserve's Washington D.C. headquarters.
Powell's camp suggests the Fed is being targeted primarily because it did not acquiesce to Trump's demands for significant interest rate cuts. Trump has responded by claiming he was unaware of the investigation until it was reported by the media last weekend.
Last week, Dimon publicly warned in an interview that Trump's frequent criticism of Powell is threatening the Fed's independence, potentially backfiring and ultimately driving up interest rates and inflation.
In response, Trump stated that he sees "no problem" with his actions regarding Powell and bluntly remarked, "We have a bad Fed official."
When questioned about Dimon's warning concerning central bank independence, Trump further commented, "I think he's wrong. We should have lower rates. Jamie Dimon probably wants higher rates, maybe he makes more money that way."
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