America’s largest bank JPMorgan and Chase has now accused the US President Donald Trump of fraudulently naming CEO Jamie Dimon in his $5 billion lawsuit over the closure of his accounts, arguing the move was designed to keep the case in Floria state court. As reported by Bloomberg, in a Thursday filling (February 19), the bank asked to move the case to federal court in Miami, with plans to later transfer it to New York. JPMorgan said Trump’s claim that Dimon directed the bank to ‘blackist’ him and his businesses was not supported under Florida’s unfair trade practices law. The bank believes that Dimon was “fraudulently joined” to avoid federal jurisdiction.
Donald Trump’s allegations on Jamie Dimon
For the uninitiated, Trump sued JPMorgan and Dimon in January this year, seeking at least $5 billion in damages for allegedly ‘debanking’ him and his companies for political reasons. His legal team insists that Dimon personally directed the bank to backlist Trump, his family, and businesses, causing “overwhelming financial and reputational harm. ”
JPMogran’s response
The bank dismissed Trump’s claims as ‘thredbare’, saying his allegations of a backlist was ‘unclear’ and lacked detail. JPMorgan’s lawyers wrote: “They do not explain what this ‘blacklist’ entails, when it was created, to whom it was supposedly circulated, or any other detail describing it. Nor is it plausible that JPMorgan could create such a list consistent with the complex federal regulatory scheme to which it is subject. ”
What’s next
JPMorgan said it will seek to dismiss the lawsuit entirely. Trump’s legal team, however, vowed to press forward, framing the case as a fight against politically motivated debanking.
