Overview
- Multiple news outlets report that the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll lied under oath about outside financing for her civil cases.
- Reporting says the probe was opened by Andrew S. Boutros and that Justice Department oversight is not handled by interim AG Todd Blanche because he recused himself for prior work on Carroll appeals.
- Prosecutors are focused on a 2022 deposition in which Carroll said she had no outside funding, a claim later contrasted with disclosures that Reid Hoffman’s nonprofit paid some legal fees.
- Carroll’s lawyers say she never met or spoke with Hoffman’s organization about funding and a judge previously blocked questioning on the Hoffman support after finding no immediate credibility problem.
- The inquiry comes while Carroll’s multimillion-dollar civil awards against President Trump remain on appeal and has raised fresh concerns about the Justice Department’s independence and the potential effects on ongoing appeals.