Capital One pursues court to dismiss Trump's lawsuit over account termination
In a legal battle that has been ongoing since March 2022, the Trump Organization has filed a lawsuit against Capital One, accusing the bank of wrongfully closing some 300 accounts associated with Trump’s businesses [1]. The lawsuit alleges politically motivated "de-banking" due to the "political tide" [5]. However, the case has recently encountered procedural setbacks.
As of late July 2025, discovery (the exchange of evidence) is currently on hold following the court's granting of Capital One’s motion to pause it [1][4][5]. This decision delays the Trump Organization's ability to quickly obtain Capital One’s internal documents about the account closures. The Trump Organization must respond to a motion to dismiss by July 25, 2025 [1].
Capital One maintains that the allegations are "generalized" and unsupported both factually and legally, seeking dismissal of the suit. They argue there is no legitimate basis for the claim of politically motivated account closures [5].
The Trump Organization's lawsuit asserts claims under consumer protection or consumer fraud laws in four states (North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Minnesota), but fails to connect these claims to any party or the relevant states' laws or interests [2]. The bank argues that the complaint doesn't connect the dots to the various state consumer protection or consumer fraud laws its argument leans on [3].
The status of this case is significant, as it follows other legal battles involving Trump and his businesses. In a separate but connected case, Trump and his businesses sued to block Deutsche Bank and Capital One from complying with congressional subpoenas. However, decisions in that matter have upheld the subpoenas and congressional investigatory authority [3].
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have stated they'll stop considering reputational risk in bank supervision [6]. This development could potentially impact the Trump Organization's argument in the ongoing lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Todd Baker, a senior fellow at Columbia University's Richman Center for Business, Law and Public Policy, believes the Trump Organization's lawsuit should be dismissed if Capital One decides to litigate, due to the weak claims in the complaint [4].
The bank’s motion to dismiss, filed on Wednesday, states that the Trump Organization's political de-banking allegations are false [1]. By October 2021, the Trump company had moved or closed all of the accounts with Capital One [7]. Both Moynihan and Dimon, the CEOs of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase respectively, denied de-banking customers for political reasons [8].
As the case progresses, both parties continue to assert their positions. The Trump Organization maintains its allegations, while Capital One seeks dismissal of the suit, arguing there is no basis for the claims of politically motivated account closures. The future of this case remains uncertain, with the Trump Organization's response to Capital One’s motion to dismiss due by July 25, 2025.
References:
- CNN Business
- Bloomberg Law
- Reuters
- The Hill
- The Washington Post
- American Banker
- Bloomberg
- The Wall Street Journal
In the realm of business and finance, the ongoing legal dispute between the Trump Organization and Capital One has escalated, with Capital One rejecting the claims of politically motivated "de-banking" as generalized and unsupported [1][5]. Meanwhile, the Trump Organization faces a July 25, 2025 deadline to respond to Capital One's motion to dismiss the lawsuit [1]. This case, significant in the context of general-news and politics, follows other legal battles involving Trump's businesses and has potential implications for future finance-related lawsuits.
