The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a criminal perjury investigation into E. Jean Carroll, who previously won $88.3 million in civil judgments against President Donald Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. The probe focuses on whether Carroll lied in a 2022 deposition by denying outside funding, though it was later revealed that a non-profit backed by Reid Hoffman covered some legal fees. Acting AG Todd Blanche, Trump's former lawyer, is recused from the case.
DOJ perjury investigation
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into writer E. Jean Carroll
- ▪The perjury probe is based on a 2022 deposition where E. Jean Carroll stated she had received no outside funding for her lawsuit
- ▪The investigation focuses on whether E. Jean Carroll committed perjury during testimony for her civil lawsuits against Donald Trump
- ▪Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has recused himself from the investigation as he previously represented Donald Trump in the Carroll cases
- ▪The investigation is being led by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois
Carroll's civil lawsuit damages
- ▪In response to the allegations, Donald Trump denied them, stating E. Jean Carroll was "not my type" and was lying to sell a book
- ▪The lawsuits stemmed from E. Jean Carroll's accusation that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store dressing room in the mid-1990s
- ▪A jury awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million in May 2023 after finding Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation
- ▪A second jury ordered Donald Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defamation in January 2024
Reid Hoffman funding disclosure
- ▪It was later revealed that a non-profit funded by billionaire Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, had paid some of E. Jean Carroll's legal fees
- ▪Reid Hoffman stated his team funded E. Jean Carroll's legal action so her voice could be heard against a wealthier, more powerful person
- ▪E. Jean Carroll's attorneys informed the judge and Donald Trump's lawyers of the funding from Reid Hoffman's non-profit two weeks before the trial began
Legal expert reactions
- ▪A federal appeals court previously dismissed the claim that E. Jean Carroll lied, finding she "plausibly represented" that she had forgotten about the outside funding
- ▪The judge in the civil case, Lewis Kaplan, blocked Donald Trump's lawyers from asking about the funding at trial, seeing no issue with E. Jean Carroll's credibility
- ▪The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District ruled that E. Jean Carroll "was not involved in the matter of who was or was not funding her litigation costs."
- ▪Ryan Goodman, a former Special Counsel to the Defense Department, called the investigation unusual for going back into an old civil case
Trump defamation appeal
- ▪Donald Trump has appealed both judgments from the civil lawsuits and has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the $5 million verdict
- ▪The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Donald Trump did not have to pay the $83.3 million judgment while he appeals to the Supreme Court
Presidential immunity claims
- ▪The Trump administration's DOJ has also launched criminal investigations into other political opponents, including James Comey, Letitia James, Adam Schiff, and Ilhan Omar
- ▪Donald Trump has challenged the $83.3 million payout on grounds including "absolute immunity" for comments made while he was president
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