Trump DOJ Opens Criminal Inquiry into E. Jean Carroll

The U.S. Department of Justice under President Donald Trump has opened a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the 82-year-old writer who won two landmark civil lawsuits against the president for sexual abuse and defamation, according to multiple news reports on May 27–28, 2026.

Prosecutors are examining whether Carroll committed perjury during an October 2022 deposition in which she stated she received no outside funding for her legal battles against Trump, as reported by The Guardian and CBS News. The investigation is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, headed by Trump appointee Andrew S. Boutros.

The Funding Controversy

At the heart of the investigation is whether Carroll knowingly misrepresented the source of funding for her lawsuits. In her 2022 deposition, Carroll said her case was on contingency and that she was not receiving outside financial support. It was later revealed that Lever for Change, a nonprofit funded by LinkedIn billionaire and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, had paid some of her legal fees and expenses.

Carroll’s attorneys informed the court and Trump’s legal team about the funding in April 2023, stating that Carroll had no direct involvement in securing or managing those payments. According to NBC News, Carroll’s lawyers said her memory had been “refreshed” and that she was told in 2020 that her attorney had “secured additional funding from a nonprofit organization to offset certain expenses and legal fees.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has recused himself from the investigation due to his prior role as one of Trump’s personal attorneys handling the Carroll appeals, as confirmed by multiple outlets including ABC News Australia.

Appeals Court Already Ruled

In 2024, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the perjury claim and found that Carroll had “plausibly represented that she had forgotten about the limited outside funding counsel obtained” and that she “simply was not involved in the matter of who was or was not funding her litigation costs.” The court dismissed Trump’s arguments that the funding discrepancy warranted overturning the jury verdicts.

A Decade-Long Legal Saga

Carroll first publicly accused Trump of sexual assault in her 2019 book, alleging he forcibly raped her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in New York in the mid-1990s. Trump denied the allegations, stating he had never met Carroll and that she was “not my type.”

In May 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages. A second jury in January 2024 ordered Trump to pay an additional $83.3 million in a separate defamation case. Both judgments have been upheld on appeal, and Trump is seeking Supreme Court intervention.

Broader Pattern of Investigations

The investigation into Carroll is the latest in a series of DOJ probes targeting Trump’s perceived political opponents. According to Wikipedia, the Trump administration has launched criminal investigations into former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Democratic members of Congress Adam Schiff and Ilhan Omar. By November 2025, Reuters counted 470 people, organizations, and institutions that Trump had targeted for retribution.

Legal and Political Implications

Legal experts note that the investigation faces significant hurdles. The 2nd Circuit’s finding that Carroll’s statement was plausibly a memory lapse rather than intentional falsehood could complicate any prosecution. Perjury cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knowingly made a false statement — a high bar under the best of circumstances.

The investigation also raises questions about the independence of the Justice Department. While Blanche’s recusal provides some procedural distance, the probe is being run by a U.S. Attorney’s Office led by a Trump appointee, and the White House has declined to comment on whether it played any role in initiating the inquiry.

What to Watch For

The investigation remains in its early stages, and it is unclear whether it will result in charges. Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, has declined to comment. Meanwhile, Trump continues to appeal the civil verdicts and has called Carroll’s allegations “a hoax.” The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether it will hear Trump’s petitions in the civil cases.

Regardless of the outcome, the investigation marks an extraordinary escalation in the legal confrontation between Carroll and the sitting president — and further erodes the post-Watergate norm of Justice Department independence from political influence.