Trump Accuser E. Jean Carroll Now Under Investigation by the DOJ

According to reports, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the woman who accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 90s and won verdicts against him in civil court for sexual abuse and defamation. Pursuant to the verdicts, Trump was ordered to pay millions of dollars in damages. This DOJ investigation surrounds whether Carroll committed perjury surrounding her 2022 deposition and testimony during the time the sexual assault claim was being litigated.

The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The investigation is focused on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony tied to her two civil lawsuits against the president – one alleging he sexually abused Carroll in a New York department store in the mid-1990s, and a second for defaming her when in 2019 he repeatedly denied the assault, said she wasn’t his type and claimed she made it up to boost sales of a book.
Prosecutors’ theory hinges on a 2022 deposition statement by Carroll, 82, that she received no outside funding for her lawsuit, though it was later revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman had paid some legal fees and expenses.

This CNN Panel Discussion on Trump Might Just Land the Network in Legal Hot Water

Criminal investigations do not necessarily mean an indictment will immediately ensue. As one high-end defendant's law firm outlines, the government can use grand jury subpoenas in a criminal investigation to obtain any non-privileged information surrounding the criminal charges. In the case of these high-profile civil lawsuits, court transcripts and video evidence from depositions, trial testimony, and the multitudinous interviews Carroll sat for are fair game. To bring criminal charges, the DOJ would first need to secure a federal grand jury indictment based on probable cause that Carroll committed perjury; proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt would come later at trial.

Of course, Democrats and the Left who applauded the civil suits filed against Trump and who covered, with much glee, the criminal proceedings brought against Trump are decrying the President's weaponization of the DOJ, without a tinge of irony.

Former U.S. attorney Barb McQuade, who helped to vet U.S. attorneys for Biden's DOJ and said that the Hunter Biden laptop was produced by Russia, gave her best legal analysis.

We already have a process for determining whether accusers are credible. It’s called a trial. And a jury already decided they believed E Jean Carroll. THIS is weaponization. https://t.co/wKl1B9YX4v via @NYTimes
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) May 28, 2026

Young Turks podcaster and leftist commentator Cenk Uygur is beside himself. He claims that "No one has ever weaponized Department of Justice this much before."

Now, Trump is using the DOJ to go after the woman he sexually assaulted, E. Jean Carroll. Because he wasn't enough of a douchebag to her. There is no end to his spite and bitterness. No one has ever weaponized Department of Justice this much before. Breaking every irony record.
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) May 28, 2026

The pro-life prisoners who were targeted by former AG Merrick Garland and the Biden DOJ under the FACE Act would beg to differ, as would journalists James Rosen and Sharyl Attkisson, who were both targeted under former AG Eric Holder and the Obama DOJ.

Tomato, To-MA-Toe.

Because acting AG Todd Blanche was an attorney involved in some of these Carroll-related matters, he has recused himself from the investigation. More distance appears to have been created by the referral of the investigation to federal prosecutors in Chicago.

Senior leaders at the Justice Department referred the investigation to federal prosecutors in Chicago, according to two sources familiar with the matter. While Carroll’s deposition took place in New York, one of the individuals who helped cover some of Carroll’s legal fees, Hoffman, has a nonprofit based in Chicago.
Hoffman’s support of the case caught Trump’s attorneys off guard when it came to light on the eve of trial.
In a 2022 videotaped deposition, Carroll told then-Trump attorney Alina Habba that no one else was paying for her legal fees. But two weeks before the trial Carroll’s attorneys informed the judge and Trump’s lawyers that they secured funding from Hoffman’s nonprofit.
Carroll’s lawyers said she never met nor had conversations with anyone associated with the nonprofit. Habba said in court at the time that Carroll’s team “conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months.”

Where this might ultimately lead remains to be seen. For now, all we know is that an investigation is reportedly underway.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

Help RedState continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.