DOJ opens criminal probe into Trump accuser Carroll over $88.3M verdicts

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll lied under oath about outside funding for her lawsuits against President Trump.

The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into writer E. Jean Carroll for potential perjury, examining whether she lied about receiving outside funding for her $88.3 million in civil verdicts against President Trump, people familiar with the probe said.

"The investigation focuses on a 2022 deposition where Carroll said no one was paying her legal fees," a person familiar with the probe said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago is leading the inquiry. Court papers later showed Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn and a Trump critic, helped cover some expenses through a nonprofit. Carroll's lawyers disclosed the funding two weeks before trial, prompting Trump's legal team to raise the issue. The judge allowed limited evidence exchange, noting the statements could speak to Carroll's credibility.

The probe adds a new legal dimension to a years-long battle that has already produced two jury verdicts against Trump — $5 million for sexual abuse and $83.3 million for defamation. Trump has appealed both to the Supreme Court. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche recused himself from the investigation because he previously represented Trump in the Carroll litigation.

Carroll, 82, first accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump has denied the allegations and said he never met Carroll. A federal jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, though it stopped short of concluding that rape occurred. A second jury in January 2024 awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages for defamation.

The investigation marks the latest high-profile legal action by Trump's Justice Department targeting the president's critics. Blanche, who took over as acting attorney general in April after Trump dismissed former Attorney General Pam Bondi, has overseen several inquiries into Trump opponents. His recusal from the Carroll probe follows his prior work as one of Trump's personal attorneys on the Carroll appeals.

Carroll's attorney, Robbie Kaplan, declined to comment on the investigation. The Justice Department also declined to comment. CNN first reported the probe Wednesday night.

The inquiry does not guarantee criminal charges will be filed, the person familiar said. Prosecutors are still in the early stages of reviewing Carroll's deposition statements and the funding arrangement with Hoffman's nonprofit.

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