The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the writer who accused former President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct in the mid-1990s, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The inquiry is focused on whether Carroll committed perjury during testimony connected to two civil cases she won against Trump.
According to the source, who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing matter, prosecutors are examining testimony Carroll gave in a 2022 deposition in which she stated she received no outside financial support for her lawsuits. Carroll's legal team subsequently disclosed that Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn, had covered some of her legal expenses.
The alleged perjury concerns testimony tied to two civil actions that Carroll prevailed in: one involving her claim that Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store, and another involving a 2019 defamation case. A jury in May 2023 found that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll and defamed her by lying, but did not find that he raped her. A separate jury in January 2024 concluded that Trump had defamed Carroll and ordered him to pay $83.3 million in damages.
The probe is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago. The source cautioned that the initiation of an investigation does not automatically mean charges will be filed against Carroll.
Requests for comment to the Justice Department and to Carroll's lawyer, Robbie Kaplan, were not immediately answered, the source said.
The source also said that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who took over from his predecessor Pam Bondi and who the source described as having moved quickly to carry out Trump’s demands since that transition, has been recused from the department’s work on this matter. Blanche was recused because he previously served as one of Trump’s personal attorneys on Carroll’s appeals, the source added.
Since last year, the Justice Department under Trump’s appointees has pursued a series of investigations targeting individuals considered antagonists to the president, and in some instances those probes have led to criminal charges, the source said.
Background and immediate developments
The current inquiry centers specifically on the accuracy of Carroll's deposition statements regarding outside funding for litigation. Prosecutors are reviewing whether her 2022 testimony was false in light of later disclosures about third-party payment of legal bills. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago is directing the investigation, but the source emphasized that its opening does not equate to an accusation or indictment at this stage.