Trump accuser E Jean Carroll faces Justice Department investigation, says source

The US Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether E Jean Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who has said Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store 30 years ago, lied during the course of civil litigation against the Republican president, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The perjury investigation is being led by the federal prosecutors’ office in Chicago, and acting attorney general Todd Blanche has had no involvement because of his prior work as Mr Trump’s personal lawyer, the person said.

Lawyers for Ms Carroll did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on Thursday.

It is the latest in a series of investigations the Trump administration Justice Department has opened into perceived adversaries of the president.

The actions, including securing an indictment last month against former FBI director James Comey, have raised alarm from Democrats and former officials that an institution meant to make prosecutorial decisions independent of the White House is being weaponised.

Ms Carroll has said a flirtatious, chance encounter with Mr Trump in 1996 at Bergdorf Goodman’s Fifth Avenue store ended violently.

She alleged Mr Trump slammed her against a dressing room wall, pulled down her tights and forced himself on her.

Mr Trump has called the allegations a “made-up scam”.

A jury in 2023 found Mr Trump liable for sexually abusing Ms Carroll in 1996, awarding her five million dollars (£3.7 million).

The following year, another jury awarded Ms Carroll 83.3 million dollars (£62 million) in a defamation case related to Mr Trump’s social media attacks on her.

The Justice Department is scrutinising a statement Ms Carroll made in the course of the civil litigation that no-one else was paying her legal fees.

It later became public that a Chicago-based organisation backed by Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, had helped fund Ms Carroll’s case.

Mr Trump’s lawyers in the civil case accused Ms Carroll of concealing that information, which they said called into question whether the case was politically motivated.

A month before the first trial in 2023, then-Trump lawyer Alina Habba sought to delay it, saying in court papers that new revelations about Mr Hoffman partially funding Ms Carroll’s case “raises significant questions as to Plaintiff’s credibility, as well as her motive for commencing and/or continuing the instant action”.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, in a December 30 2024 ruling, upheld the five million dollar jury award from 2023.

The court addressed Ms Carroll’s credibility after Mr Trump accused her of lying, during a deposition, about how her case was funded.

The court cited Ms Carroll’s explanation that when the question about Mr Hoffman’s contributions was first posed to her in 2022, she had forgotten about “the limited outside funding” received in September 2020.

“It showed that Ms Carroll simply was not involved in the matter of who was or was not funding her litigation costs,” the appeals court said.

Mr Hoffman has defended the financial assistance, saying in a social media post that “supporting women fight for progress and justice in philanthropy, politics and business has been a longstanding priority of mine, as is supporting America against the threat of Trump”.

A court entry earlier this month said Mr Trump will not have to pay the award until the US Supreme Court gets a chance to review the case or reject an appeal.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to a request by one of Mr Trump’s lawyers that it let the president delay the payment to Ms Carroll, though it required that he post a 7.4 million dollar (£5.5 million) bond to cover any additional interest costs, a request Ms Carroll’s lawyer had made.

The Carroll investigation was first reported by CNN.