Florida is targeting Wall Street's favourite bank JPMorgan.
On Nov. 10, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has opened an investigation into JPMorgan Chase over allegations of politically motivated de-banking.
Uthmeier said the state believes the lender participated in what he called the Biden Administration's "shadow" effort to pressure political opponents, including the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG).
Related: JPMorgan reveals plan for swelling debt crisis as Bitcoin crashes
Account closures draw scrutiny
Uthmeier said the state had "serious concerns" about JPMorgan's handling of TMTG's accounts.
He claimed federal officials targeted the company ahead of its public listing, stating:
"We now know Biden officials went after their political enemies."
He further alleged the bank sought "tons of information" unrelated to normal business practices and believed that sensitive data was shared with the Department of Justice "without probable cause."
A letter sent from Uthmeier to the bank outlines the state's timeline of events. It notes that on March 28, 2023, "Biden's Justice Department subpoenaed JPMC for '[a]ny and all records' of TMTG," including materials from before the company existed.
Uthmeier said that "almost immediately" afterward, JPMorgan began questioning TMTG officials about earlier transactions, inquiries he argued appeared "pretextual."
According to the letter, the situation escalated after TMTG closed its merger in March 2024, at which point "JPMC notified TMTG that it was closing its bank accounts."
The Attorney General said the timing "raise[s] obvious, troubling questions" about whether the account closures were connected to federal pressure.
More News:
Crypto sector sees echoes of Operation ChokePoint 2.0
Although the probe centers on political allegations, the fact pattern resembles complaints long raised by crypto businesses, especially after 2022 to 2023, when several digital asset firms reported sudden account closures, heightened due-diligence requests and what they described as informal regulatory pressure.
Many in the industry referred to these actions as "Operation Choke Point 2.0" - a reference to the original 2013 to 2015 Department of Justice initiative that pressured banks to offboard "high-risk" sectors.
In its crypto-era iteration, the term was used to describe what firms said was a coordinated, behind-the-scenes effort by regulators to quietly de-risk exchanges, stablecoin issuers and Bitcoin miners without issuing formal prohibitions.
Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long has repeatedly warned that "It is still presumed unsafe and unsound for a bank to touch a digital asset even in a de minimis amount," arguing that banks have quietly de-risked crypto clients in response to supervisory guidance rather than formal rulemaking.
Related: Custodia Bank CEO says stablecoins and tokenized deposits could make ACH obsolete
Eric Trump has also accused several financial institutions of "weaponized" access, telling an industry audience earlier this year,
"I was probably the most canceled person for doing absolutely nothing wrong… they came after me like I was a dog."
The Florida Attorney General's office said the investigation into JPMorgan remains ongoing.
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Nov 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the Policy section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
