So, the CEO of JPMorganChase, Jamie Dimon, went on Fox News’ show Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo and claimed that JPMorganChase does not debank individuals, associations or corporations for ideological reasons.
Dimon was responding to allegations made by Devin Nunes, a former congressman and now CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group, that JPMorgan had “debanked” Trump Media for political reasons. Dimon didn’t just reject the claim, he said, “People have to grow up here, OK, and stop making up things and stuff like that … . I can’t talk about an individual account. We do not … debank people for religious or political affiliations,” said Dimon.
“But that’s not true. And you don’t have to take my word for it. You can take Dimon’s own words for it,” wrote Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearm industry’s trade association.
In 2021, Dimon testified at a congressional hearing and stated under oath that JPMorganChase would not lend to manufacturers of so-called “assault weapons.”
“We do not finance the manufacture of military-style weapons for civilian use,” Dimon said at the time.
“Just two years ago, JPMorganChase was caught red-handed using their financial might to pressure the financial software company Intuit into preventing firearm businesses from using their payment services,” said Keane. “The revelation came to light after several businesses told U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) of Intuit abandoning them, only to have Intuit tell the senator they made the move after JPMorganChase, along with Bank of America, told them to prohibit gun manufacturers and sellers from using Intuit’s QuickBooks software.”
More recently, the NSSF argues, Dimon has tried to equivocate.
“I want to change these rules. I actually applaud the Trump administration, who’s trying to say that debanking is bad and we should change the rules,” Dimon told Bartiromo.
Last August, President Donald Trump’s administration issued an executive order addressing those kinds of discrimination in access to banking. The order, Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans, targets “politicized or unlawful debanking” and the use of so-called “reputational risk” assessments that could result in such debanking.
“The order cites many examples as justification,” said NRA-ILA, which has been working for years on this issue. Some financial institutions, for example, according to the executive order, “participated in Government-directed surveillance programs targeting persons participating in activities and causes commonly associated with conservatism,” as in flagging customers who “made transactions related to companies like ‘Cabela’s’ and ‘Bass Pro Shop’ or who made peer-to-peer payments that involved terms like ‘Trump’ or ‘MAGA,’ even though there was no specific evidence tying those individuals to criminal conduct.” This executive order also refers to the notorious use of federal bank regulators’ authority and influence over regulated banks to “direct or otherwise encourage politicized or unlawful debanking activities” in what was known as “Operation Choke Point.”
With all of that as both background, the NSSF said, “The rules are changing. And there’s nothing stopping Dimon from changing how JPMorganChase does business. NSSF applauded the Trump administration’s Executive Order ending ‘woke’ banking discrimination, signed in August. NSSF also supported the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announcement of new actions to eliminate politicized or unlawful debanking in the federal baking systems.”
The NSSF then points out that “Dimon has been vocal to deny JPMorganChase debanks entities for political reasons, despite his own testimony and evidence proving he does. And while he claims he wants banking reform, he’s suspiciously silent when it comes to congressional efforts to make those changes into law.”
“Dimon needs to do better. A banking CEO can’t expect to go on television and claim his corporate bank doesn’t discriminate when there’s so much evidence it does, and he has testified under oath to that fact ... . Talk is cheap, Mr. Dimon. Time to walk the talk,” said Keane.
It is also important to remember that these are federally chartered banks, meaning they receive benefits from taxpayer funds to help them do business daily—this includes FDIC insurance. So, as they are federally backed, they should not be discriminating against legal businesses or individuals for ideological reasons. To correct this, NRA-ILA has been actively supporting federal legislation written to prevent federally charted banks from discriminating against legal businesses and individuals who are engaged in a constitutionally protected activity.
We’ll keep you informed as this issue moves forward.
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