E. Jean Carroll, who accused Donald Trump of sexually abusing her, is reportedly under criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice. The probe will focus on whether Carroll committed perjury during her testimony, tied to her two civil lawsuits against Trump.
DOJ targets Donald Trump’s accuser E.Jean Carroll
The Justice Department has begun a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the journalist and former magazine columnist for Elle, who had accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault. The development was first reported by CNN and other news outlets, citing multiple sources with knowledge regarding the matter.
The investigation will reportedly look into whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony connected with her two civil cases against Trump. One case accused the president of sexually abusing her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. The second case alleged that Trump defamed her by repeatedly denying the assault. The POTUS claimed that she fabricated the incident as a publicity tactic to promote her book.
Trump was ordered to pay $5 million to Carroll after he appealed to the US Supreme Court to overturn the first judgment. He planned to do the same with the other case as well, which resulted in Carroll receiving $83 million.
According to reports, the prosecutors’ theory is based on a 2022 deposition statement by Carroll that she had not received any outside financial support for her lawsuit. However, it later came to light that billionaire Reid Hoffman had contributed to some legal fees and expenses.
In a 2024 ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the Second District stated, the “additional discovery… showed that Ms Carroll simply was not involved in the matter of who was or was not funding her litigation costs.”
Shortly after CNN’s report, US Attorney Andrew Boutros gave a statement confirming that the Northern District of Illinois “has not opened—and has never opened—a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll.”
Originally reported by Namrata Ghosh on Mandatory
