Overview
- The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation on May 27, 2026 to determine whether E. Jean Carroll committed perjury by saying in a 2022 deposition that she had received no outside funding for her lawsuits against President Trump.
- Prosecutors are centering their review on the contrast between Carroll’s deposition statement and later disclosures that a nonprofit tied to billionaire Reid Hoffman paid some of her legal fees and expenses.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is recused from the matter because of his prior work on Carroll’s appeals, and senior DOJ leaders referred the probe to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago for handling.
- Carroll’s civil judgments against Trump — including a $5 million sexual-assault award and a larger defamation award — remain under appeal and the Supreme Court has repeatedly deferred deciding whether to take up Trump’s latest appeal.
- Coverage and commentary differ on the probe’s significance, with some outlets and commentators describing it as routine follow-up on possible perjury and others criticizing it as politically motivated given the DOJ’s recent focus on figures linked to President Trump.