Capital One said that it closed some 300 bank accounts held by companies affiliated with US President Donald Trump for anti-money laundering (AML) reasons, according to a new motion filed by the bank on Friday.
Further, Capital One argued that the complaint should be dismissed with prejudice as the plaintiffs have yet to bring forth a plausible, legally binding claim.
Capital One explained that it had notified the account owners by letter in March 2021 of its decision to close the accounts by June of the same year, giving them three months' notice to handle opening new accounts elsewhere.
It added that when requested, it granted extensions past that date as well.
The lawsuit was filed four years later, in March 2025, alleging that Capital One closed the bank accounts in an attempt to distance itself from Trump following the January 6 riots.
The bank rejected the claim in a newly filed motion, arguing that the companies’ theory is based on cherry-picked quotations unsupported by the full context of the bank's own records.
According to the motion, the decision to close the accounts followed "months of analysis and a careful review" by Capital One’s financial-crimes unit, which has “decades of law enforcement experience."
It added that it did not “impair[ed] Plaintiffs’ ability to obtain accounts with other banks,” and due to this, the decision to close the accounts only became public with the lawsuit.
The court has already, in March, dismissed an earlier version of the lawsuit on similar grounds as the bank’s reason for closing an account under such a contract cannot generally be questioned in court.
Capital One didn't need to share reason behind account closure
Further, Capital One argued against a new claim added by the plaintiffs, that the bank had “defrauded” them by staying silent with its reasoning.
It noted that the “harm” alleged by the plaintiffs, including the loss of banking services, inconvenience, and difficulty obtaining new accounts, would have occurred even if the bank had notified them of the reason behind the closure.
However, Capital One’s lawyers have said that the bank was under no obligation to give the reason behind the accounts’ closure.
“Where (as here) a contract specifically provides that no explanation is required for termination, a party cannot simultaneously claim that the other party’s silence regarding its reasons for closure constitutes concealment,” the bank’s lawyers wrote in the motion.
Secondly, the bank’s lawyers note that the Bank Secrecy Act would have limited the information it was allowed to disclose about its internal anti-money-laundering process.
Further, Capital One noted that the “harm” alleged by the plaintiffs, including the loss of banking services, inconvenience, and difficulty obtaining new accounts, would have occurred even if the bank had notified them of the reason behind the closure.
Trump files $5 billion lawsuit against JP Morgan
The lawsuit with Capital One is one of several Trump-affiliated entities have filed against major banks, accusing them of “debanking,” a practice that allows them to terminate accounts with “with accounts they deem reputational risks and is solely based on perceived bias,” according to CBS News.
In January 2026, separate $5 billion lawsuit was filed by Trump against JP Morgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon, for allegedly following similar conduct as Capital One and closing accounts due to political reasoning, though JP Morgan has denied any wrongdoing, according to CBS.
The case remains pending in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, CBS said.