The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into columnist and writer E. Jean Carroll over whether she committed perjury in testimony related to lawsuits involving President Donald Trump that she won, Reuters reports.
Newsweek reached out to the DOJ and Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lawyer, via email on Wednesday night for comment.
Carroll, widely recognized as a longtime advice columnist and former TV talk-show host, accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in 1996 and defaming her when he denied her allegations decades later. In 2023, a jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages after concluding that Trump was legally responsible for the sexual abuse and subsequent defamatory comments made in October 2022.
An appellate court upheld the verdict in December 2024, leading Trump’s legal team to repeatedly seek Supreme Court intervention.
Trump was also ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages.
What To Know
According to Reuters, the prosecutors are looking into a deposition statement made in 2022 that she received no outside funding for her lawsuit. It was later revealed by her lawyers that some of Carroll’s legal bills were paid by billionaire Reid Hoffman.
Hoffman’s role in Carroll’s litigation was primarily financial and indirect. He helped fund some of Carroll’s legal costs through a nonprofit he backs, American Future Republic, rather than paying her or her lawyers directly, Forbes previously reported.
Hoffman adviser Dmirtri Mehlhorn said this funding was part of broader support for legal efforts and clients typically do not know the identity of donors, Forbes also said.
The revelation of Hoffman’s involvement became somewhat controversial because of its timing and political implications, as it was disclosed shortly before trial.
Hoffman is one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent Democratic donors and an outspoken critic of Trump.
CNN was first to report the investigation on Wednesday.
Newsweek also reached out to venture capital firm Greylock, where Hoffman is a partner, in efforts to get comment from him on Wednesday night.
This is a developing story that will be updated with additional information.
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