Trump's week in review: E. Jean Carroll investigation; ‘anti-weaponization’ fund blocked; Iran ceasefire
4. Trump DOJ opens criminal probe into E. Jean Carroll testimony
The DOJ recently opened a criminal investigation related to litigation involving E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s.
NBC News reported Thursday that sources familiar with the matter said the investigation centered on a trust founded by billionaire Democratic donor Reid Hoffman that helped pay some of Carroll’s legal expenses.
Allegations include possible money laundering, obstruction and conspiracy, as well as a possible perjury charge related to Carroll’s testimony. The investigation is being overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, NBC News reported.
In 2019, Carroll claimed in an excerpt from a book that she was assaulted by Trump in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in Manhattan, either in the autumn of 1995 or the spring of 1996.
In a statement released soon after the excerpt was publicized, Trump denied the accusation, claiming he had never met her and that she was simply “trying to sell a new book.”
“That should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section. No pictures? No surveillance? No video? No reports? No sales attendants around?? I would like to thank Bergdorf Goodman for confirming they have no video of any such incident because it never happened,” Trump stated at the time.
Carroll filed a lawsuit against Trump in 2019 over his statements. A second lawsuit was filed in response to remarks Trump made against her in 2021 that she alleged were defamatory.
In May 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in 1996 and awarded her $5 million. However, jurors rejected her claim that she was raped, instead finding Trump liable for sexual abuse.
Trump continues to deny wrongdoing and has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
