U.S. Justice Department launches criminal probe into Trump r@pe accuser E. Jean Carroll

The U.S. Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.The investigation is focused on whether Carroll, 82, committed perjury in testimony tied to her two civil lawsuits against the president. The first lawsuit alleged Trump sexually abused Carroll in a New York department store in the mid-1990s, and the second centered on defamation when he repeatedly denied the assault in 2019, claiming she made it up to boost book sales.Prosecutors theory hinges on a 2022 deposition statement by Carroll where she stated she received no outside funding for her lawsuit. It was later revealed that billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman had paid for some of her legal fees and expenses.Carrolls legal team declined to comment on the investigation, and attempts to reach Hoffman were unsuccessful.The probe is the latest move in the departments ongoing efforts to target individuals viewed as the president's high-profile adversaries. Under acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who took reins of the department in April, the Justice Department has pushed to accelerate these high-profile investigations, drawing heavy criticism and legal challenges over potential politicization.Because Blanche previously worked as one of Trumps personal defense attorneys on the Carroll appeals, he has been formally recused from this matter. Sources familiar with the situation note that Blanche has not attended meetings or participated in discussions regarding the case, leaving the investigation to be overseen by officials in the deputy attorney generals office. Senior leaders at the Justice Department referred the investigation to federal prosecutors in Chicago. While Carrolls initial deposition took place in New York, the referral was routed to Illinois because an organization tied to Hoffman, who helped cover the legal fees, is a nonprofit based in Chicago.The issue of external funding first caught Trumps legal team off guard on the eve of the original trial. During the 2022 deposition, Carroll testified to Trumps attorney, Alina Habba, that no outside entities were paying her legal fees. Two weeks before the trial, Carrolls attorneys notified the judge and Trump's team that they had secured funding from Hoffman's nonprofit. Carrolls lawyers maintained she had never met or spoken with anyone associated with the organization.Habba argued in court that Carroll's team "conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months."The judge allowed Trumps attorneys to question Carroll again in a separate deposition, which remains sealed. However, once the trial began, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that he saw no issue with Carroll's credibility and barred Trump's defense team from asking about Hoffman's funding in front of the jury.Carroll remains locked in multiple legal battles with the president. Juries previously awarded Carroll a combined $88.3 million in damages across the two cases, which Trump is actively appealing.Trump has appealed the $5 million sexual abuse judgment directly to the Supreme Court and has pledged to do the same with the $83.3 million defamation verdict. The Supreme Court has deferred its decision on whether to take up Trumps appeal twelve times, with the most recent deferral issued Wednesday morning.The post U.S. Justice Department launches criminal probe into Trump r@pe accuser E. Jean Carroll appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.