Capital One defended its decision to close hundreds of Trump Organization accounts in a court filing, stating the move followed an anti-money-laundering review rather than political bias. The Trump Organization previously sued the bank in March 2025 over the March 2021 closures.
Capital One Financial pushed back against a lawsuit over its decision to close the Trump Organization’s bank accounts years ago, revealing that the action stemmed from a review by anti-money-laundering experts. The filing marks the first time a financial institution has formally tied anti-money-laundering concerns to the family business of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The bank is asking a Florida federal court to dismiss the case, challenging allegations that it illegally debanked the organization on political or religious grounds. Capital One has never accused the Trump Organization of illegal money laundering. However, the bank’s court papers argue that internal documents and the plaintiffs’ own claims confirm the account closures happened for specific compliance reasons.
Court Filing Details Anti-Money-Laundering Review
According to the court filing submitted on Friday, the account closures resulted from months of analysis conducted by Capital One’s anti-money-laundering team. The bank stated that the review followed internal policies and federal banking guidance. Capital One gave notice in March 2021 that it planned to shutter more than 300 Trump-affiliated bank accounts.
“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 Financial, Court Filing
The Trump Organization and Eric Trump filed their lawsuit in March 2025 in a Florida federal court. They alleged that the bank terminated services because of its political views and in response to the climate following the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot
, according to court documents cited across multiple reports.
Legal Battles and the Broader Regulatory Environment
The federal court in Miami has already dismissed two prior complaints in the case, granting the plaintiffs opportunities to amend their filings. Capital One argued that the latest complaint, filed in July, suffers from the same fundamental flaws as their prior two pleadings
.
The bank maintained that allegations of political pretext are misguided
and rely on cherry-picked quotations unsupported by the full context
of submitted documents. Furthermore, the filing noted that the transaction patterns identified by Capital One are among the types of activity flagged by federal banking guidance
.
The ongoing litigation unfolds as the Trump administration exerts pressure on major U.S. financial institutions over conservative complaints regarding targeted account closures. President Trump signed an executive order in August 2025 prohibiting discriminatory debanking practices. In January, Trump also filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase on similar grounds, highlighting the tense policy environment wall street institutions must navigate.
Historical Financial Disputes and Prior Scrutiny
The current legal dispute revives attention on earlier financial clashes involving major lenders. During his first term in 2019, Trump filed a lawsuit against Capital One and Deutsche Bank to block them from sharing financial records with Congress during a probe led by Democratic lawmakers. Reports from that period indicated that anti-money-laundering specialists at Deutsche Bank had flagged specific transactions, though Deutsche Bank denied those claims at the time.
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