The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll — the former magazine columnist who twice won civil cases against Donald Trump, including the 2023 New York verdict that found Trump liable for sexual abuse.
According to multiple reports first published by CNN, federal prosecutors are examining whether Carroll committed perjury during a 2022 videotaped deposition. In that deposition, Carroll reportedly stated under oath that no one else was paying for her legal fees. Court records later showed that her legal team disclosed — roughly two weeks before her trial began — that the case had been at least partially funded by a nonprofit tied to LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
Why Chicago — Not New York
Senior leadership at the Justice Department referred the matter to federal prosecutors in Chicago, rather than New York where the deposition took place. The reason, according to sources familiar with the case: Hoffman’s nonprofit is based in Chicago, which gives that district jurisdiction over the financial-disclosure side of any potential false-statement charge.
The case is being overseen by officials in the deputy attorney general’s office. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — who previously served as one of Trump’s personal attorneys on the Carroll appeals — has formally recused himself. According to a source familiar with the matter, Blanche has not attended meetings or been involved in any discussions about the investigation.
The Underlying Civil Cases
Carroll first publicly accused Trump in a 2019 memoir of attacking her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. She filed two civil lawsuits — one for battery and defamation, and a separate defamation case tied to Trump’s later public statements about her.
A New York federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in May 2023 and awarded Carroll $5 million. A second jury awarded her $83.3 million in January 2024 over additional defamatory statements. Both verdicts have been the subject of ongoing appeals.
The Political Backdrop
The decision to open a federal criminal investigation into the woman whose civil suits Trump lost is already drawing sharp reactions on both sides. Carroll’s representatives have publicly characterized the probe as politically motivated, pointing to the unusual choice of pursuing a perjury case rooted in a civil deposition during the same administration whose head she sued.
Justice Department officials, in contrast, have indicated the inquiry follows standard procedure for any potential federal false-statement violation, and that the recusal of Blanche reflects an effort to insulate the investigation from any direct conflict of interest.
What Happens Next
Criminal perjury cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute. Federal law requires prosecutors to prove not only that a witness made a false statement under oath, but that the statement was knowingly false and material to the underlying matter. Whether Carroll’s statement about her legal funding rises to that bar is now a question for federal investigators in Chicago.
Either way, the decision marks a significant escalation: an active Department of Justice has opened a criminal probe of a private citizen whose most public role was bringing — and winning — a civil case against the sitting president of the United States.