The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the writer who accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s and later won nearly $90 million in civil judgments against him.
According to multiple reports, federal investigators are examining whether Carroll committed perjury during testimony connected to her civil lawsuits against Trump. Prosecutors are reportedly focusing on statements Carroll made during a 2022 deposition regarding outside financial support for her legal battle.
The investigation is reportedly being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche recused himself because of his previous work representing Trump in legal matters tied to Carroll.
Probe reportedly centers on lawsuit funding
Investigators are reportedly scrutinizing Carroll’s deposition testimony in which she stated she had not received outside funding for her lawsuits against Trump.
Later court filings revealed that LinkedIn co-founder and major Democratic donor Reid Hoffman helped finance portions of Carroll’s legal expenses through a nonprofit organization.
Trump’s legal team previously argued Carroll concealed that support during litigation and claimed the funding arrangement could have impacted her credibility before jurors. Carroll’s attorneys countered that she personally did not coordinate with the nonprofit providing assistance.
The opening of a criminal investigation does not guarantee charges will ultimately be filed.
Still, the move marks a dramatic escalation in the years-long legal and political war between Trump and Carroll.
Carroll won two massive jury verdicts
Carroll first publicly accused Trump of sexually assaulting her inside a New York department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Trump repeatedly denied the allegations and claimed Carroll fabricated the story to promote her memoir, triggering multiple defamation lawsuits.
In 2023, a Manhattan jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. A second jury later awarded her an additional $83.3 million in a separate defamation case tied to Trump’s public comments denying the allegations.
Trump has continued appealing both verdicts and has repeatedly argued the cases were politically motivated.
Critics accuse DOJ of political retaliation
The investigation is already fueling accusations that Trump’s Justice Department is targeting political enemies and critics.
Several legal analysts and anti-Trump commentators described the probe as retaliation against one of Trump’s most prominent accusers.
The investigation also arrives amid broader efforts inside Trump’s second-term Justice Department to review prosecutions, investigations, and legal actions involving Trump and his allies.
Supporters of the investigation argue the issue is straightforward: if witnesses lied under oath in major civil litigation involving the president of the United States, federal prosecutors have an obligation to examine it regardless of politics.
For now, Carroll has not been charged with any crime.
But the federal investigation ensures the bitter legal fight between Trump and one of his most famous accusers is far from over.
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This Filthy Lying woman is Guilty of Lying lock her up .
Jean Carroll lied about more than financial assistance. She lied about the encounter itself. No one so upset about something, cannot remember the date or time. She tried this with other men, but she didn’t have the NY AG on her side or other leftists judges trying their best to destroy President Trump. When bias Judges deny the prosecution the ability to present just what kind of female Carroll is, you have a rigged system.