A group of 19 GOP attorneys general has sued JPMorgan Chase for allegedly discriminating against religious and other conservative organizations, which contradicts the company’s commitment to “inclusiveness,” they say.
In a letter to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, the Attorney General led by Daniel Cameron of Kentucky claims the company “continuously discriminates against” customers because of “religious or political affiliation.”
Chase claims it opposes “discrimination in any form,” but GOP state leaders claim it has repeatedly targeted religious freedom organizations by closing their checking accounts and denying them other important banking services because of their political leanings, a practice which is now known as ‘debanking.’
The attorneys general point to Chase’s alleged “de-banking” of a religious freedom organization last year – the National Committee on Religious Freedom (NCRF) – without clear explanation.
NCRF, founded by former US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, is a well-known “multifaith” non-profit organization.
Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co, who said of the purchase of First Republic: ‘Our government invited us and others to act, and we did’
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Brownback said in October that he was “stunned” that the bank had closed NCRF’s checking account and would not give a conclusive answer to the reasons behind the closure.
According to the letter, a Chase employee eventually contacted NCRF and said the bank would reinstate the account, but only if the organization provided a list of their donors, a list of political candidates they wanted to support, and a rationale behind the statements of support.
The bank’s brazen attempt to coerce critical services from a client who passes an unspoken religious or political litmus test goes against Chase’s anti-discrimination policy. Worse, it goes against fundamental American values of fairness and equality,” the attorneys general said in the letter to Dimon.
In addition, there have been at least two other instances where Chase “has not expanded its openness and inclusiveness to everyone,” the state AGs say.
Family Council’s account, a pro-life group, was terminated in 2021 at a credit card processor owned by Chase after it was deemed “high risk” by the company.
WePay, which is also owned by Chase, reportedly did not provide ticketing services to the Defense of Liberty organization, a conservative group, in 2021 as the event spotlighted Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s son.
That action prompted the Missouri State Treasurer to threaten to shut down business with the bank, and as a result of the pressure, Chase reinstated the organization’s account.
But the attorneys general say that while the bank has changed tack, it has taken no steps to prevent the same problems from happening in the future.
“And while the bank reversed previous decisions based on such discriminatory judgments, Chase apparently made no institutional changes to prevent similar discrimination in the future.”
The state leaders say that if Chase starts participating in the research component of the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, it will be a “positive first step” to stop the alleged discrimination.
The survey, which Chase previously declined to participate in, is “the first comprehensive benchmark designed to measure companies’ respect for religious and ideological diversity in the marketplace, workplace and public square.”
A Chase spokesperson previously said the company would “never” terminate a customer relationship based on political or religious affiliations.
‘Of course I can’t speak about confidential customer matters. But what I can say is that we have never ended a customer relationship because of their political or religious beliefs,” said the spokesperson.
In addition, Trump’s former national security adviser, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, was recently told that a family credit card had been canceled by the bank without explanation.
“Chase Bank’s all woke up!” Flynn exclaimed in a statement. “They have to deal with their own reputation instead of persecuting my family and me. DOJ dropped my case due to their own blatant government misconduct, apparently you weren’t so lucky with the DOJ. I think my political views on America First don’t match yours. Your loss.’
Flynn was pardoned by the former president after pleading guilty to making false statements to the FBI, and his case was dismissed by the Justice Department in 2020.
Chase said the cancellation of the Flynn card was made “by mistake.”
DailyMail.com reached out to Chase to comment on the letter on Tuesday.
The letter was signed by: Steve Marshall, Alabama; Treg Taylor, Alaska; Tim Griffin, Arkansas; Ashley Moody, Florida; Chris Carr, Georgia; Raul Labrador, Idaho; Todd Rokita, Indiana; Brenna Bird, Iowa; Kris Kobach, Kansas; Daniel Cameron, Kentucky; Jeff Landry, Louisiana; Andrew Bailey, Mississippi; Austin Knudsen, Montana; Andrew Bailey, Missouri; Alan Wilson, South Carolina; Ken Paxton, Texas; Sean Reyes, Utah; Jason Miyares, Virginia; and Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia.
Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, welcomed the move by the attorneys general.
“I applaud these attorneys general for notifying banks like JP Morgan Chase for ignoring their clients and focusing on the waking political agendas. Individuals and organizations who hold certain political or religious beliefs should not be denied access to funds or denied access to a financial institution. Actions like this highlight the obvious political activism of these banks and companies,” he told DailyMail.com.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is leading the charge against JP Morgan for alleged discrimination
“Companies should focus on their customers, not awake politicians, activists or ESG elites like BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.”
BlackRock is another major investment company that has come under fire from conservatives who claim it puts a commitment to diversity, fairness and inclusion over shareholder interests.
The allegations by state law enforcement come as JPMorgan faces questions about its relationship with convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
A judge ruled on Monday that the company could be held liable by the women who accused Epstein if lawyers can prove that former bank manager Jes Staley knew Epstein ran a sex trafficking ring.
“If the allegations in the plaintiffs’ complaints are accepted as true, Mr. Staley knew firsthand that Epstein was conducting a sex trafficking enterprise,” wrote U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff.
In addition, JP Morgan announced on Monday that it had purchased First Republic Bank after its recent collapse.
Under the terms, JPMorgan Chase & Co will pay $10.6 billion to the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), which has placed First Republic in receivership, for most of the bankrupt bank’s assets.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase rose 2.14 percent, making the largest U.S. bank the biggest gainer on the Dow Jones.
The collapse of First Republic is the third major casualty of the biggest crisis to hit the US banking sector since 2008.