DOJ Launches Investigation Into Woman Whom Jury Found Trump Sexually Abused

The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the woman whom a jury found President Donald Trump sexually abused, according to multiple sources.

Writer E. Jean Carroll won millions in damages in two separate cases against the president, one that found him liable for sexual abuse in 2023 and one that found Trump defamed her the following year. Both decisions were upheld on appeal, though the president has appealed the sexual assault case yet again, this time to the Supreme Court, which has postponed its choice on whether or not to take up the case twelve separate times, including on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday came CNN’s report that Trump’s Justice Department has begun a criminal investigation into Carroll surrounding the possibility that she committed perjury when she claimed in a 2022 deposition that her lawsuit against the president was not funded by any outside backers. Billionaire Reid Hoffman, Carroll’s lawyers later told the judge, paid some of her legal fees.

Carroll’s legal team claimed she had no association with the Hoffmans’ nonprofit that helped pay the fees, and the judge allowed Trump’s lawyers to question Carroll in another deposition, though they were blocked from further questions about Hoffman during the trial.

“We can confirm that no U.S. Attorney’s Office has declined to investigate any case relating to the subject matter of CNN’s inquiry,” a Justice Department spokesperson told CNN. “We will not comment beyond that.”

CNN host Erin Burnett spoke with colleague Paula Reid about the story on Wednesday’s OutFront.

“Now, over at the Justice Department, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, I am told, has recused from this case because he worked on one of the appeals related to the Carroll case,” said Reid. “Now, I’m told he has not attended any meetings or been in any discussions about this investigation. The case is currently being handled out of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago.”

Sources told the outlet the location of the case in Chicago is due to Hoffman’s nonprofit, which is located in the city.

Carroll’s team declined to comment to CNN, and the outlet’s attempts to reach Hoffman on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Watch above via CNN.

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