Trump’s retribution campaign hits JPMorgan Chase — with $5 billion on the line

President Donald Trump sued JPMorgan $JPM Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon on Thursday, accusing the bank of dropping him as a customer and closing his accounts for political reasons in late 2021, following the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Trump's representatives filed the complaint in Miami-Dade County state court, accusing the bank of trade libel and breaching fair trade covenants. The president and other plaintiffs comprised of Trump-related business entities are seeking at least $5 billion in damages.

“Plaintiffs are confident that JPMC’s unilateral decision came about as a result of political and social motivations," the lawsuit alleges. It adds that JPMorgan Chase acted on "woke beliefs" in its decision-making regarding Trump.

The lawsuit marks the newest chapter in Trump's retribution campaign against targets such as media organizations, prominent law firms, central bank officials, Democratic lawmakers, and banks.

In its statement, JPMorgan Chase described the lawsuit as meritless but strained to avoid further antagonizing the president.

 “While we regret President Trump has sued us, we believe the suit has no merit. We respect the President’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves — that’s what courts are for," a JPMorgan Chase spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the bank "does not close accounts for political or religious reasons. 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."

The JPMorgan Chase spokesperson also said the firm was against the "weaponization" of the banking sector and endorsed Trump's efforts to stamp it out.

Lately, Dimon has been on a tear against Trump's proposed one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Dimon on Wednesday described it as an "economic disaster" in the making.

"In the worst case, you'd have to have a drastic reduction of the credit card business — I mean drastic," he said. Dimon and Wall Street firms argue the cap would strip credit access from lower-income Americans who take more advantage of it.

Dimon — a longtime supporter of immigration reform — was also critical of the president's hardline immigration policies and mass deportations.

"I don’t like what I’m seeing,” Dimon said, in an apparent reference to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents' violence against alleged undocumented immigrants and citizens. “So I think we should calm down a little bit on the internal anger about immigration," he added.