DOJ reportedly investigating Trump sex abuse accuser E. Jean Carroll

E. Jean Carroll, who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault in 2019, is reportedly being investigated by the Department of Justice on allegations of committing perjury in testimony tied ​to two civil lawsuits that she won against the President. In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll. He was also held liable for defaming Carroll over comments he made in a 2022 post on Truth Social. 

CNN, which first reported the development, mentioned that the investigation focuses on a 2022 deposition statement by Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, that she received no outside funding for her lawsuit;  it was later revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman had paid some legal fees and expenses. 

Carroll had accused Trump of raping her in the 1990s. In her memoir, 'What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal', which was released in full in July 2019, Carroll detailed an encounter with the President at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City, where she claimed she was violently assaulted. Trump denied the allegations, accusing her of lying to sell books. "I'll say it with great respect: Number one, she's not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" Trump had said at the time in an interview with The Hill.

As the criminal statute of limitations for the 1990s incident had long expired, Carroll initially filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump. Later, in 2022, following the passing of the Adult Survivors Act, she filed a second lawsuit, adding civil claims of sexual battery. A jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll, though not for rape. In January 2024, another jury found him liable for further defamation and ordered him to pay $83.3 million in damages. However, in May, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Trump a temporary stay on his appeal.

The reports have ignited a new political storm, with Trump critics amplifying their concerns about the President allegedly weaponizing the Justice Department. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) called the probe "a disgusting insult to victims everywhere" in an X post. "He's using the power of the DOJ to go after his own victims. It's a vile attack on the rule of law and a disgusting insult to victims everywhere," Schiff wrote. "The Department of Justice is acting unethically on a stupendous scale. The DOJ is filing frivolous cases and investigations against people Trump doesn't like," Representative Ted Lieu said.