The U.S. Justice Department has initiated a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Focus on Perjury Allegations
The investigation is centered on whether Carroll, 82, committed perjury in testimony related to her two civil lawsuits against the president. The first lawsuit alleged that Trump sexually abused Carroll in a New York department store in the mid-1990s, while the second involved defamation after Trump repeatedly denied the assault in 2019, claiming she fabricated the story to boost book sales.
Key Evidence and Funding Disclosure
Prosecutors' theory hinges on a 2022 deposition statement by Carroll, where she asserted that she received no outside funding for her lawsuit. It was later revealed that billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman had paid for some of her legal fees and expenses. Carroll's legal team declined to comment on the investigation, and attempts to reach Hoffman were unsuccessful.
The probe represents the latest move in the department's ongoing efforts to target individuals viewed as the president's high-profile adversaries. Under acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who assumed leadership in April, the Justice Department has accelerated these high-profile investigations, drawing heavy criticism and legal challenges over potential politicization.
Recusal and Oversight
Because Blanche previously worked as one of Trump's personal defense attorneys on the Carroll appeals, he has been formally recused from this matter. Sources familiar with the situation note that Blanche has not attended meetings or participated in discussions regarding the case, leaving the investigation to be overseen by officials in the deputy attorney general's office.
Referral to Chicago
Senior leaders at the Justice Department referred the investigation to federal prosecutors in Chicago. While Carroll's initial deposition took place in New York, the referral was routed to Illinois because an organization tied to Hoffman, which helped cover the legal fees, is a nonprofit based in Chicago.
The issue of external funding first caught Trump's legal team off guard on the eve of the original trial. During the 2022 deposition, Carroll testified to Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, that no outside entities were paying her legal fees. Two weeks before the trial, Carroll's attorneys notified the judge and Trump's team that they had secured funding from Hoffman's nonprofit. Carroll's lawyers maintained she had never met or spoken with anyone associated with the organization.
Legal Arguments and Court Rulings
Habba argued in court that Carroll's team "conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months." The judge allowed Trump's attorneys to question Carroll again in a separate deposition, which remains sealed. However, once the trial began, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that he saw no issue with Carroll's credibility and barred Trump's defense team from asking about Hoffman's funding in front of the jury.
Ongoing Legal Battles
Carroll remains locked in multiple legal battles with the president. Juries previously awarded Carroll a combined $88.3 million in damages across the two cases, which Trump is actively appealing. Trump has appealed the $5 million sexual abuse judgment directly to the Supreme Court and has pledged to do the same with the $83.3 million defamation verdict. The Supreme Court has deferred its decision on whether to take up Trump's appeal twelve times, with the most recent deferral issued Wednesday morning.
