Columnist E. Jean Carroll had accused U.S. President Donald Trump of sexual assault. Now, however, she herself is finding herself entangled in the legal system. The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into Carroll. Multiple sources familiar with the matter confirmed this to CNN. The investigation is examining whether Carroll committed perjury—giving false testimony under oath—in connection with two civil lawsuits filed against Trump. One lawsuit alleged that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. The other was a defamation suit. Trump repeatedly denied these allegations in 2019, stating that Carroll was “not his type” and had fabricated the claims to boost book sales.
Sources indicate that the primary basis for the prosecutors’ allegations is a deposition given by Carroll in 2022. In that deposition, the 82-year-old Carroll stated that she had not received any outside funding for her lawsuit. However, it later came to light that billionaire Reid Hoffman had covered some of her legal fees and expenses. Carroll’s attorneys declined to comment on the matter. Attempts to reach Hoffman for comment on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
This investigation is being viewed as the latest example of the Department of Justice’s ongoing—and somewhat controversial—efforts to take action against Trump’s long-standing personal adversaries. Under the leadership of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Department of Justice has worked to rapidly advance Trump’s retaliatory agenda. However, the cases he has pursued since assuming leadership of the department in April have faced widespread criticism for being politically motivated and could potentially face legal challenges in court.
Nevertheless, one source noted that Blanche has recused himself from this specific investigation. This is because he had previously served as Trump’s personal attorney and worked on appeals related to the Carroll cases. The source further stated that Blanche has not participated in any meetings regarding the investigation, nor has he been involved in any discussions concerning it. Currently, other officials within the Deputy Attorney General’s office are overseeing the inquiry. Two sources familiar with the matter have stated that top officials at the Department of Justice have referred this investigation to federal prosecutors in Chicago. Although Carroll’s deposition took place in New York, the non-profit organization belonging to Hoffman—the individual covering a portion of her legal expenses—is based in Chicago. Trump’s lawyers were taken aback when the details of Hoffman’s funding surfaced just prior to the start of the trial.
In a video deposition conducted in 2022, Carroll told Alina Habba—Trump’s attorney at the time—that no one else was covering her legal costs. However, two weeks before the trial began, Carroll’s lawyers informed both the judge and Trump’s legal team that they had received funds from Hoffman’s non-profit organization. Carroll’s lawyers maintained that she had never met or spoken with anyone from that organization. At the time, Habba alleged in court that Carroll’s legal team had engaged in a conspiracy to conceal the truth for approximately six months.
Subsequently, the judge granted Trump’s lawyers permission to question Carroll again during a deposition, although the transcript of that session has not yet been made public. When the trial commenced two weeks later, Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that he saw no issues regarding Carroll’s credibility. At the same time, he barred the lawyers from asking questions concerning Hoffman’s financial backing.
Carroll remains engaged in multiple ongoing legal battles with Trump. A jury awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages—a verdict against which Trump has filed an appeal. Trump has appealed to the Supreme Court to challenge the $5 million verdict in the sexual assault case, and he has vowed to take similar action regarding the $83 million verdict in the defamation case.
The Supreme Court has postponed its decision—twelve times to date—on whether to hear Trump’s appeal. The most recent postponement was issued on Wednesday morning. In a separate case, Trump attempted to have the Department of Justice substituted as the defendant, thereby enabling him to claim that he is entitled to sovereign immunity. However, a panel of appellate court judges ruled that this argument had been raised far too late in the legal proceedings.
