U.S. Justice Department reportedly investigating Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll
Listen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.The U.S. Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the writer who accused President Donald Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The probe is focused on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony tied to two civil lawsuits that she won against Trump — one tied to her allegations that he sexually abused her in a New York department store and another over defamation in 2019, said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.CNN first reported the development.The department and Carroll's lawyer Robbie Kaplan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The source said the prosecutors' move is based on a 2022 deposition statement by the former Elle magazine advice columnist that she received no outside funding for her lawsuit. Her lawyers later revealed that Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn, had paid some of her legal bills.Acting attorney general Todd Blanche, who has moved quickly to carry out Trump's demands since taking over from his predecessor Pam Bondi, has been recused from the department's investigation as he worked as one of Trump's personal attorneys on the Carroll appeals, the source said.Trump has long denied allegationA jury found in May 2023 that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll, and defamed her by lying, but did not rape her. Another jury in January 2024 found that he had defamed her and ordered him to pay $83.3 million US in damages. In the first trial, the jury only heard from Trump through a 2022 deposition."It's a false accusation, never happened, never would happen," Trump said in the deposition. Trump, then a private citizen between his presidential terms, briefly took the stand in the second trial, where a judge limited what he would testify about. Trump said he stood by his earlier deposition.Carroll first made the allegation in 2019 that Trump had raped her in the dressing room area of a Bergdorf's store in Manhattan, in a New York Magazine excerpt of a memoir that was being published that year. The alleged assault took place in 1995 or 1996, she said.Carroll said she told some friends about the encounter at the time, but feared retaliation from Trump, then a casino owner. Carroll told CBC News in 2019 she was somewhat reluctant in bringing forth the Trump allegation for her book What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal, but was inspired to do so by the #MeToo movement that arose in late 2017.Trump, president at the time, denied the allegation and said Carroll was "not my type." At his deposition three years later, Trump misidentified Carroll when presented with a picture of the two of them from a decades-old event, first believing the woman was his ex-wife Marla Maples.LISTEN | Lawfare's Ben Wittes on Trump critics facing legal peril (Oct. 2025):Front Burner26:24Trump's campaign of legal revenge'Vile attack on the rule of law'The launch of a probe, which is being led by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago, may not necessarily result in charges being brought against Carroll.But since Trump returned to the presidency for a second time, Democrats have accused him of seeking retribution against those who he believes have wronged him. Some have also accused Blanche and his predecessor Bondi of enabling Trump in those quests, undermining the independence of the Justice Department. The department has brought indictments for various alleged offences against former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, although a judge dismissed the charges against James in late 2025.Investigations have also either been announced or uncovered by reporters concerning Sen. Adam Schiff, former CIA director John Brennan and first-term Trump administration members Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor."He's using the power of the [Department of Justice] to go after his own victims," Schiff posted on social media in reference to the Carroll investigation. "It’s a vile attack on the rule of law and a disgusting insult to victims everywhere."
