The US Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into whether E Jean Carroll, the writer who accused Donald Trump of sexual assault, lied under oath during her civil lawsuit against the former president.
The probe is being led by the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, it is understood. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has recused himself from the inquiry because of his prior role as one of Trump’s personal attorneys, leaving the investigation under the oversight of US Attorney Andrew Boutros.
The perjury allegations
The investigation centres on a statement Carroll made during a 2022 deposition, in which she said she had received no outside funding to pursue her lawsuit. It later emerged that billionaire Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and a major Democratic donor, had provided financial support for some of her legal fees and expenses through a non-profit organisation he backs, American Future Republic.
Trump’s legal team had previously argued that the undisclosed funding raised questions about Carroll’s motives and credibility. However, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presided over both of Carroll’s civil trials against Trump, said after the funding was revealed that he found “no issue” with her credibility.
The civil lawsuits against Donald Trump
Carroll brought two civil cases against Trump. In the first, a jury in May 2023 found the former president liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages. The jury did not find Trump liable for rape under the specific definition of the New York Penal Law, though Judge Kaplan later clarified that their findings were consistent with the common understanding of the word “rape.” Trump appealed the verdict, but the federal appeals court upheld the decision in December 2024.
In the second case, a jury in January 2024 awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages for defamation arising from statements Trump made in 2019 denying the assault. That award has also been upheld by the appeals court, with Trump’s legal team now seeking review by the Supreme Court.
Trump’s attorneys argued that the jury’s verdict was a “seriously erroneous result” and that the damages were “excessive,” but Judge Kaplan rejected the motion for a new trial in July 2023, describing the damages as reasonable. He also dismissed a countersuit filed by Trump against Carroll, ruling that her statements to the media were “substantially true.”
Because both cases were civil rather than criminal, Trump faced no jail time. He has repeatedly described Carroll’s claims as a “hoax” and a “complete con job.”
Anti-weaponisation fund
Separately, the US Justice Department announced in May 2026 the creation of a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of a settlement to resolve a lawsuit brought by Trump against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.
The fund is intended to compensate individuals who claim they have been victims of “lawfare and weaponisation” by the government. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described it as “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponisation to be heard and seek redress.”
The settlement also includes an addendum that permanently bars the IRS from conducting any current or future audits or inquiries into the Trump family.
Democrats and government watchdog groups immediately condemned the fund, calling it “corrupt” and unprecedented. They argue that it would unfairly benefit people close to the president and open the door to meritless claims of political persecution, while being funded by taxpayer dollars.
