DOJ Opens Perjury Probe Into E. Jean Carroll Over Lawsuit Funding

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the writer who won two civil judgments against President Trump after accusing him of sexual abuse and defamation. The probe, first reported by CNN and confirmed across multiple outlets, centers on whether Carroll committed perjury during a 2022 deposition when she stated that her lawsuits received no outside funding.

Investigators are examining claims that billionaire Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn co-founder and prominent Democratic donor, covered some of Carroll’s legal expenses through his nonprofit, American Future Republic. The inquiry is being led by Andrew Boutros, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois whom Trump appointed last year. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has recused himself because he previously represented Trump in the Carroll appeals.

Carroll, now 82, prevailed in a 2023 Manhattan federal trial in which a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding her $5 million. A separate 2024 jury ordered Trump to pay an additional $83.3 million after finding he defamed her again in 2019 comments denying the encounter and suggesting she fabricated the story to sell a book. Both verdicts survived initial appeals, though Trump has asked the Supreme Court to review the first judgment and has signaled plans to challenge the second.

The new investigation arrives amid a broader pattern in which the Justice Department has scrutinized figures involved in cases against Trump. Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, declined to comment on the matter. A Justice Department spokesperson also declined to comment to ABC News.

The perjury focus stems from legal filings by Trump’s attorneys in 2023 that highlighted Hoffman’s involvement. Carroll has maintained that any assistance was limited and did not contradict her deposition testimony. The criminal inquiry does not guarantee charges will be filed, but it places Carroll under formal federal scrutiny at a time when Trump has repeatedly vowed to use the legal system against those he views as political opponents.

Carroll first publicly accused Trump of assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s during a 2019 interview. Trump has consistently denied ever meeting her. The two civil cases turned on questions of liability and damages rather than criminal guilt, and the juries accepted Carroll’s account in both instances.

The timing of the Justice Department action follows an appeals court decision earlier this month that allowed Trump to defer payment on the judgments while the Supreme Court considers his petition. The department has already moved to intervene in that appeal on Trump’s behalf.

Observers note that the investigation relies on a narrow factual dispute over funding disclosure rather than the substance of Carroll’s allegations. Whether prosecutors can establish that any misstatement was material and willful remains an open question. For now, the case adds Carroll to a growing list of Trump adversaries facing federal review under the current administration.