In their efforts to exert influence over the U.S. banking system, President Donald Trump and his two oldest sons have baselessly accused various banks of shutting down their accounts for political reasons after Jan. 6.
Trump has promoted this unfounded allegation while casting himself as a victim, a claim MS NOW’s Stephanie Ruhle helped debunk earlier this year when she laid waste to Trump’s lawsuit against JPMorgan. And some Republican state attorneys general — such as Florida’s James Uthmeier, for example — have pursued separate investigations into similarly baseless allegations.
But Capital One essentially threw down the gauntlet on Friday in a legal filing alleging that the actual reason for the closed accounts was a concern about potential money laundering.
Capital One Financial hit back on Friday against a lawsuit over its decision to close the Trump Organization’s bank accounts years ago, stating that it did so after a review by anti-money laundering experts.
The disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied money laundering concerns to U.S. President Donald Trump’s family business. Capital One is seeking to dismiss the case by casting doubt on claims of illegally debanking — or denying services on religious or political grounds — the Trump Organization.
Reuters said the Trump Organization and Capital One didn’t immediately respond to its requests for comment.
The report continued:
Capital One has never accused the Trump Organization of illegal money laundering. But Friday’s filing argues that “documents and Plaintiffs’ own allegations make clear that Capital One closed Plaintiffs’ accounts for anti-money laundering (“AML”) reasons. The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance.”
Capital One gave notice of its plans to close more than 300 Trump-affiliated bank accounts in March 2021.
The claim brings to mind Trump’s past ties to Deutsche Bank, an institution with a history of anti-money laundering failures and one that — according to reports back in 2019 — maintained relationships with Trump-related entities after staffers flagged suspicious activity. (Such flags do not constitute proof of a crime.)
Trump and his family organization, of course, have a history of financial impropriety that could make a bank wary. Two years ago, Trump himself was convicted on felony counts of falsifying business records. (The case remains under appeal.)
Trump, his two oldest sons and Trump Organization entities also were found liable for committing civil fraud in New York, a ruling that they are trying to get overturned.
And back in 2018, a judge finalized a $25 million settlement Trump reached after former students said they had been misled or defrauded by his now-defunct Trump University. This followed his 2016 pronouncement that “I don’t settle cases very easily when I’m right.”
All this is to say: Trump isn’t someone who should be seen as a trustworthy financial partner. So his claims about political debanking ought to be taken with a grain of salt — especially in light of Capital One’s new filing.
The post Capital One says money laundering concerns led to closure of Trump Org accounts, not politics appeared first on MS NOW.
