A criminal perjury probe has been opened into a woman who claimed President Donald Trump assaulted her in a New York department store three decades ago, and then won $5 million and $83 million judgments against him.
The first was in 2023 from a jury that found Trump “liable” for abusing her, although there was no conviction of assault. The second followed from a jury who agreed with E. Jean Carroll that Trump defamed her by denying her allegations.
A report from NBC now confirms that the Department of Justice is investigating Carroll.
At issue is whether she committed criminal perjury during testimony in her court cases against Trump, cases that still are on appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Carroll is a former magazine writer.
DOJ opens perjury investigation into Trump sex abuse accuser E. Jean Carroll: report https://t.co/t4HOlwRmbL pic.twitter.com/7iWPVzDlj8
— New York Post (@nypost) May 28, 2026
E. Jean Carroll said during her 2022 deposition that no one besides her was paying her legal fees.
Here’s Reid Hoffman in 2023 saying that he had funded her case.
She committed perjury. pic.twitter.com/NMSBXjk7nD
— MAZE (@mazemoore) May 28, 2026
Justice Department opens a criminal investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll committed perjury in testimony during her sexual abuse lawsuits against President Trump, according to a source familiar with the matter. https://t.co/Jz2EVWb0jk
— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 28, 2026
Trump repeatedly has denied any wrongdoing and confirmed he didn’t even know the woman.
A report at the Daily Caller News foundation said the investigation focuses on statements including those at her 2022 testimony “where she said she did not receive any outside financial help for her civil lawsuits against the president, Reuters reported.”
But, the report said, “Billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman informed the judge and Trump’s lawyers that a nonprofit he funded helped pay some legal expenses.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation pointed out, “Hoffman is a prominent individual with ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. He visited Epstein’s private island in 2014 after Epstein pleaded guilty to charges in 2008. The billionaire is also a notable Democratic megadonor who has given tens of millions of dollars to Democratic candidates and causes, including nearly $700,000 to the Biden Victory Fund.”
