DOJ opens criminal investigation into Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll
The Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine writer who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday.
Carroll previously filed civil lawsuits against Trump, which accused him of sexually abusing and defaming her. She won $83 million in the defamation case in September 2025 and $5 million in May 2023 for the sexual abuse suit.
The new investigation revolves around around whether Carroll committed perjury when she stated she had no outside funding for her lawsuit, according to CNN, who was the first to report the investigation.
It was later revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman "paid some legal fees and expenses," CNN reported Wednesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.
ABC News and the New York Times also reported the investigation.
The investigation is reportedly being led by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros after Attorney General Todd Blanche recused himself from the case. Blanche worked as one of Trump’s attorneys in an attempt to appeal the decisions in Carroll's civil suits.
Carroll's accusations against the president became public in 2019 when she released her memoir. She accused him of sexually attacking her in a Manhattan dressing room in 1996. The second lawsuit, which an appellate court recently upheld the decision of, revolved around Trump’s yearslong attacks on her character after the accusations became public.
Carroll previously filed civil lawsuits against Trump, which accused him of sexually abusing and defaming her. She won $83 million in the defamation case in September 2025 and $5 million in May 2023 for the sexual abuse suit.
The new investigation revolves around around whether Carroll committed perjury when she stated she had no outside funding for her lawsuit, according to CNN, who was the first to report the investigation.
It was later revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman "paid some legal fees and expenses," CNN reported Wednesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.
ABC News and the New York Times also reported the investigation.
The investigation is reportedly being led by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros after Attorney General Todd Blanche recused himself from the case. Blanche worked as one of Trump’s attorneys in an attempt to appeal the decisions in Carroll's civil suits.
Carroll's accusations against the president became public in 2019 when she released her memoir. She accused him of sexually attacking her in a Manhattan dressing room in 1996. The second lawsuit, which an appellate court recently upheld the decision of, revolved around Trump’s yearslong attacks on her character after the accusations became public.
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