The Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation to determine whether writer E. Jean Carroll committed perjury during her lawsuits against Donald Trump. The investigation occurs amid a new phase of legal confrontation between the author and the president. According to sources cited by CNN and CBS News, the case focuses on possible contradictions regarding the financing of her lawsuit.
Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. In 2023, a jury awarded her 5 million dollars in damages after finding Trump liable for sexual abuse. A year later, she obtained 83 million dollars in another civil trial for defamation.
Trump has denied the accusations and said he did not even know Carroll. The White House referred questions to the Department of Justice. Carroll’s legal team did not immediately respond to NBC News on Thursday. The CNN network first reported on the investigation.
What exactly is the Department of Justice investigating?
The investigation seeks to determine whether Carroll lied under oath in a 2022 deposition. The key point would be whether she received external financial support for her lawsuit. That information could be relevant in determining whether perjury occurred during the litigation.
Sources cited by CBS News indicated that the investigation is led by the federal prosecutor’s office in northern Illinois. The existence of an investigation does not mean charges will be filed. In perjury cases, the evidentiary standard is high.
The perjury accusation also becomes politically sensitive. Carroll won two civil trials against Trump. In practice, this makes any review of her testimony a new front in an already deeply polarized dispute.
