Section

Federal authorities have initiated a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, focusing on potential perjury related to her civil lawsuits against former President Donald Trump.
The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault. This development marks a significant escalation in the legal battles surrounding the former president’s past conduct.
According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the probe is specifically focused on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony tied to her two civil lawsuits against the president. The first lawsuit alleged that Trump sexually abused Carroll in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. The second lawsuit accused him of defaming her in 2019 when he repeatedly denied the assault, claimed she was not his type, and asserted she fabricated the story to boost book sales.
Prosecutors’ theory hinges on a specific 2022 deposition statement by Carroll, 82, in which she testified that she received no outside funding for her lawsuit. However, it was later revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman had paid some of her legal fees and expenses. This discrepancy appears to be the central pillar of the new criminal inquiry.
Carroll’s team declined to comment for this story. Attempts to reach Hoffman on Wednesday were unsuccessful. The probe represents the latest move in the department’s ceaseless, and somewhat strained, efforts to meet Trump’s demands to target his long-standing personal foes.
Under acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the department has pushed to speed up Trump’s campaign of retribution. However, the cases he has brought since taking the reins of the department in April have been heavily criticized and are likely to face challenges in court over allegations of politicization.
Blanche has been recused from this matter because he worked as one of Trump’s personal attorneys on the Carroll appeals, according to a source familiar with the matter. Blanche has not attended meetings or been involved in discussions about the investigations, and the investigation is being overseen by other officials in the deputy attorney general’s office.
Senior leaders at the Justice Department referred the investigation to federal prosecutors in Chicago, according to two sources familiar with the matter. While Carroll’s deposition took place in New York, one of the individuals who helped cover some of Carroll’s legal fees, Hoffman, has a nonprofit based in Chicago. This geographic link likely influenced the assignment of the case to federal prosecutors in that jurisdiction.
Hoffman’s support of the case caught Trump’s attorneys off guard when it came to light on the eve of trial. In a 2022 videotaped deposition, Carroll told then-Trump attorney Alina Habba that no one else was paying for her legal fees. But two weeks before the trial, Carroll’s attorneys informed the judge and Trump’s lawyers that they secured funding from Hoffman’s nonprofit.
Carroll’s lawyers said she never met nor had conversations with anyone associated with the nonprofit. Habba said in court at the time that Carroll’s team “conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months.” The judge permitted Trump’s attorneys to question Carroll again in a deposition, which has not been made public.
When the trial began two weeks later, Judge Lewis Kaplan said he saw no issue with Carroll’s credibility and blocked the lawyers from asking about Hoffman’s funding. The judge's decision at that time effectively shielded Carroll from immediate legal consequences regarding the funding disclosure, but the issue has now resurfaced in a federal criminal context.
Carroll is still embroiled in multiple legal battles with the president. Juries awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages, which the president is appealing. Trump has appealed the $5 million sexual abuse case judgement to the Supreme Court and has pledged to do the same with the $83 million defamation case.
The Supreme Court has deferred its decision on whether to take up Trump’s appeal twelve times. The most recent deferral was made Wednesday morning. In a different case, the president unsuccessfully asked for the Justice Department to join the case as a defendant so that he could argue he is immune from liability. An appeals court panel of judges said the argument was raised too late in the legal process.
CNN’s John Fritze contributed to this report. This story was updated to remove a statement errantly provided by the Justice Department.
As the Justice Department investigation proceeds, the legal landscape for both parties remains volatile. The criminal probe into Carroll introduces a new layer of complexity to an already protracted dispute. If prosecutors can secure charges related to the alleged perjury, it could significantly impact the standing of Carroll’s civil judgments, potentially undermining the credibility of her claims in the eyes of the public and future legal proceedings.
Conversely, Trump’s continued appeals of the civil verdicts suggest his legal strategy remains focused on overturning the financial penalties and damages already awarded. The repeated deferrals by the Supreme Court indicate a cautious approach to intervening in these high-profile cases. The outcome of this criminal probe could serve as a pivotal moment in the ongoing saga, potentially setting precedents for how funding disclosures are treated in high-stakes litigation involving public figures. The interaction between the criminal investigation and the pending civil appeals will likely dictate the next phase of this legal war, with implications for political accountability and legal ethics.
Jun 11, 2026 17:21 UTC
Bangladesh Opposition Mobilizes Against India-Bangladesh Border Push-Ins and BSF Killings
Join 50,000+ readers getting the global briefing every morning.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Jun 11, 2026 17:40 UTC
Boelter Pleads Guilty in Minnesota Political Assassinations
Jun 11, 2026 17:21 UTC
Bangladesh Opposition Mobilizes Against India-Bangladesh Border Push-Ins and BSF Killings
Jun 11, 2026 17:21 UTC
John Healey Quits as UK Defence Secretary Over Funding Dispute
Jun 11, 2026 16:19 UTC
UK Defence Secretary John Healey Quits Over Funding Dispute