Justice Department launches criminal investigation into Trump accuser Jean Carroll
What's the story
The US Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into E Jean Carroll, the magazine columnist who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault, CNN reported, citing sources. The probe is centered on whether Carroll committed perjury in her testimony related to her two civil lawsuits against Trump. The lawsuits include one where she accused him of sexually abusing her in a New York department store and another for defamation after he denied the allegations, saying she wasn't his type.
Deposition scrutiny
Investigation focuses on deposition statement
The prosecutors' theory is particularly focused on a 2022 deposition statement by Carroll, where she claimed to have received no outside funding for her lawsuit. However, it was later revealed that billionaire and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman had paid some of her legal fees and expenses. Hoffman's involvement came as a surprise to Trump's attorneys when it was disclosed just before the trial.
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Carroll acquired funding from Hoffman's nonprofit
Carroll told then-Trump attorney Alina Habba during a videotaped deposition in 2022 that no one else was paying her legal fees. However, two weeks before the trial, Carroll's attorneys informed the judge and Trump's lawyers that they had acquired funding from Hoffman's nonprofit. Carroll's lawyers claimed she never met or spoke with anyone involved with the nonprofit. Habba stated in court at the time that Carroll's crew had "conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months."
Ongoing disputes
Legal battles with Trump
Carroll is currently engaged in several legal battles with Trump. She was awarded millions of dollars in damages by juries, but Trump is appealing these decisions. He has appealed the $5 million sexual abuse case judgment to the Supreme Court and plans to do the same for the $83 million defamation case. The Supreme Court has postponed its decision on Trump's appeal 12 times, with the latest postponement occurring Wednesday morning.
Case referral
Details of the investigation
Senior leaders at the Justice Department have referred the investigation to federal prosecutors in Chicago. Hoffman's nonprofit, which helped cover some of Carroll's legal fees, is based in this city. Hoffman adviser Dmirtri Mehlhorn earlier told Forbes that the funding was part of broader support for legal efforts and clients typically do not know who the donors are.
Case
Know about the case
In 2019, Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman store in Manhattan in the 1990s in an excerpt of her book What Do We Need Men For? Trump denied the allegation, saying, "She's not my type...it never happened." The same year, Carroll first filed a civil lawsuit against Trump, accusing him of defamation. In 2022, she filed a second civil case under New York's Adult Survivors Act, accusing Trump of sexual misconduct.
Courts
Second lawsuit went to trial first
The second lawsuit went to trial first, and the jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing the writer, ordering him to pay her $5 million. In January 2024, a jury ruled in Carroll's favor in the defamation case, ordering Trump to pay her $83.3 million in damages. Trump has appealed both judgments.