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 Donald Trump for sexual abuse and repeated defamation, according to multiple reports from outlets including CNN, CBS News and The New York Times. The probe centers on whether Carroll committed perjury during a 2022 deposition when she stated that her lawsuits received no outside funding.

Carroll, now 82, accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. Juries in 2023 and 2024 found Trump liable, ordering him to pay $5 million in the first case and $83.3 million in the second for defamatory statements in which he dismissed her claims and suggested she fabricated them to sell a book. Both verdicts survived appeals, and Trump has asked the Supreme Court to review the initial judgment.

Investigators are examining Carroll’s testimony after it emerged that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a prominent Democratic donor, had covered some of her legal costs through his nonprofit. The inquiry is being run out of the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois by Andrew Boutros, a Trump appointee. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously represented Trump in the Carroll litigation, has recused himself.

The timing and structure of the investigation fit a broader pattern. Since returning to office, Trump has directed the Justice Department to scrutinize a range of figures who pursued cases against him or his allies, including former officials and state attorneys general. Carroll’s attorney has not commented, and the department has declined to confirm details.

Trump has consistently denied ever meeting Carroll and has portrayed the civil verdicts as politically motivated. The new criminal inquiry, however, rests on a narrow question of funding disclosure rather than the substance of the sexual abuse finding itself. Legal experts note that proving perjury in this context would require showing Carroll knowingly made a false statement under oath that was material to the proceedings.

Carroll first detailed her allegations in a 2019 book excerpt. Trump responded with public attacks that prompted the defamation claims. The second jury award included substantial punitive damages after jurors concluded Trump’s statements were made with actual malice. Those findings remain in force while the Supreme Court petition is pending.

The department’s decision to pursue the matter through a Trump-appointed prosecutor in Illinois, rather than offices more directly connected to the original New York litigation, has drawn attention from observers tracking the administration’s use of federal law enforcement resources. Carroll’s legal team has not indicated whether she has been contacted by investigators or received any formal notice.