The Department of Justice has initiated a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who previously accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault, to check if Carroll committed perjury during her testimony. She filed two civil cases: One alleges that Trump sexually abused her in a New York department store. The second was a defamation claim after the president denied the assault, claiming it was fabricated for book sales.
Per CNN, the current focus of the federal prosecutors is a 2022 deposition in which Carroll, now 82, stated under oath that she did not receive any outside funding for her legal proceedings. It was later revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman had provided payments for some of her legal fees and expenses.
The DOJ is currently in the process of addressing the president’s requests to focus on his long-standing personal adversaries. Under the leadership of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the department has moved to accelerate these efforts. However, the cases initiated since Blanche took control in April have faced heavy criticism, with many observers noting they will likely face significant legal challenges regarding potential politicization.
It’s been a case filled with angry accusations and angrier Truth Social posts
Blanche has been recused from this specific matter due to his previous work as a personal attorney for the president on the Carroll appeals. Consequently, he has not participated in any meetings or discussions concerning this investigation, which is now being overseen by other officials within the deputy attorney general’s office.
Senior leadership at the DOJ has referred this investigation to federal prosecutors based in Chicago. While Carroll’s initial deposition occurred in New York, the nonprofit organization associated with Hoffman, which helped cover some of Carroll’s legal costs, is based in Chicago. Hoffman’s involvement in funding the case was a detail that reportedly caught the president’s legal team off guard just before the start of the trial.
The origins of this dispute trace back to a 2022 videotaped deposition where Carroll told then-Trump attorney Alina Habba that she was not receiving outside financial support for her legal battles. Approximately two weeks before the trial began, Carroll’s attorneys notified both the judge and the president’s legal team that they had actually secured funding from Hoffman’s nonprofit.
At the time, Carroll’s lawyers maintained that she had never met or spoken with anyone affiliated with that organization. According to CNN, Habba argued in court that Carroll’s team “conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months.”
Following this revelation, the judge allowed the president’s attorneys to question Carroll again in a new deposition, though that transcript has not been made public. When the trial commenced two weeks later, Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that he did not see an issue with Carroll’s credibility and ultimately blocked the lawyers from questioning her regarding the funding provided by Hoffman.
The legal landscape remains complex, as Carroll is still involved in multiple active battles with the president. Juries have previously awarded her millions of dollars in damages, and the president is currently appealing those decisions.
Specifically, the president has appealed the $5 million sexual abuse judgment to the Supreme Court. He has also indicated his intention to do the same regarding the $83 million defamation case.
As of Wednesday morning, the Supreme Court has deferred its decision on whether to hear the appeal for the twelfth time. Her victory at the time was celebrated by many supporters, who included celebrities like Jamie Lee Curtis and George Takei.
Background details from NBC News provide further context to these long-standing tensions. During her 2023 testimony, Carroll stood by her claims, stating, “I’m here because Trump raped me.”
She described the alleged 1995 or 1996 encounter at Bergdorf Goodman in detail. In her testimony, submitted to the court, she claimed that after the president suggested they look at lingerie, he eventually shoved her against a wall and assaulted her.
Per NBC, the Illinois District Attorney’s office denied that an investigation was open. However, the reports of the same persist. The president has consistently and vehemently denied these allegations. During the 2023 trial, he also used his platform on Truth Social to call for an investigation into Hoffman, a call that was echoed by then AG Pam Bondi. He said, “This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats.”
Published: May 29, 2026 02:52 pm