A group of 19 GOP attorneys general are naming JPMorgan Chase for alleged discrimination against religious and other conservative organizations, contradicting the company’s commitment to “inclusiveness,” they say.
In a letter to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, the state attorney general, led by Kentucky’s Daniel Cameron, alleges that the company “consistently discriminates against” clients based on “religious or political affiliation.”
Chase claims it opposes “discrimination in any form,” yet GOP state leaders allege it has repeatedly attacked religious liberty organizations by closing their checking accounts and denying them other essential banking services because of their political leanings, a practice now perpetuated is known as ‘de-banking.’
Attorneys general point to Chase’s alleged “de-banking” last year of a religious freedom organization — the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF) — without a 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, said of the First Republic purchase, “Our government invited us and others to get involved, and we did.”
Following the announcement that JPMorgan Chase had bought the bank, a deal was announced earlier Monday that would allow for an orderly failure of First Republic
Brownback said in October he was “stunned” that the bank had closed the NCRF checking account and would not provide an adequate response as to the reasons for the closure.
According to the letter, a Chase employee eventually contacted NCRF and said the bank would restore the account, but only if the organization provided a list of their donors, a list of political candidates they wished to support, and a rationale for the endorsements.
“The bank’s brazen attempt to make critical services conditional on a customer passing an unspoken religious or political litmus test contradicts Chase’s antidiscrimination policy. Worse, it violates fundamental American values of fairness and equality,” the attorney generals said in the letter to Dimon.
Additionally, there have been at least two other instances where Chase “has not extended its openness and inclusivity to everyone,” the state AGs say.
Family Council, a pro-life group, had its account terminated with a Chase credit card processor in 2021 after it was deemed “high risk” by the company.
WePay, also owned by Chase, reportedly failed to offer ticketing services for the Defense of Liberty organization, a conservative group, in 2021 because the event showcased Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s son.
This action prompted the Missouri State Treasurer to threaten to go out of business with the bank, and as a result of the pressure, Chase restored the organization’s account.
But attorneys general say that while the bank has changed course, it has taken no steps to prevent the same problems from occurring in the future.
“And while the bank reversed past decisions based on such discriminatory judgments, Chase appears to have made no institutional changes to prevent similar discrimination in the future.”
The state leaders say if Chase begins participating in the survey component of the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, it will be a “positive first step” in stopping his alleged discrimination.
The survey, which Chase previously declined to participate in, is “the first comprehensive benchmark developed to measure companies’ respect for religious and ideological diversity in the marketplace, workplace, and community.”
A Chase spokesperson previously said the company would “never” terminate a customer relationship based on political or religious preferences.
“Of course I can’t talk about confidential customer matters. But what I can say is that we have never and never would terminate a client relationship because of their political or religious affiliation,” the spokesman said.
In addition, former Trump National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn was recently informed that a family credit card was canceled by the bank without explanation.
‘Chase Bank woke up with a bang!’ exclaimed Flynn in a statement. “They need to take care of their own reputation instead of going after my family and me. The DOJ dropped my case because of their own egregious government misconduct, apparently you weren’t so lucky with the DOJ. I guess my political views on America First don’t align with yours. your loss.’
Flynn was pardoned by the former president after pleading guilty to providing false information to the FBI, and his case was dismissed by the Justice Department in 2020.
Chase said the Flynn card’s cancellation was “in error.”
reached out to Chase on Tuesday for comment on the letter.
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 Vogel, 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, Va.; and Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia.
Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, welcomed the attorney general’s move.
“I applaud these Attorneys General for bringing banks like JP Morgan Chase to the fore for ignoring their customers and catering to the political agendas that have been raised. Individuals and organizations holding certain political or religious beliefs should not be deprived of access to funds or denied access to a financial institution. Actions like this highlight the clear political activism these banks and corporations engage in,” he told .
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is leading the prosecution into the alleged discrimination against JP Morgan
“Companies should focus on their customers and not bright politicians, activists or ESG elites like BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.”
BlackRock is another major investment company under fire from conservatives who claim it puts commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion ahead of shareholder interests.
The allegations from state law enforcement officials come as JPMorgan faces questions about its relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A judge ruled Monday that the company could be held liable by the women who have accused Epstein if lawyers can prove that former bank executive Jes Staley knew Epstein ran a sex trafficking ring.
“If the allegations in the plaintiffs’ complaints are accepted as true, Mr. Staley did indeed have first-hand knowledge that Epstein operated a sex trafficking business,” wrote US District Judge Jed Rakoff.
Additionally, on Monday, JP Morgan announced that it had bought First Republic Bank following its recent collapse.
Under the terms, JPMorgan Chase & Co will pay $10.6 billion for most of the failed bank’s assets to the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), which bankrupted First Republic.
JPMorgan Chase shares rose 2.14 percent, making the largest US bank the top performer on the Dow Jones.
The collapse of the First Republic is the third major casualty of the biggest crisis to hit the US banking sector since 2008.