BREAKING: DOJ launches criminal investigation into infamous Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll

Carroll, who wrote of the encounter with Trump in her memoir prior to bringing the civil suit, is under investigation over whether or not she committed perjury in her two suits against Trump. The first was over the alleged sexual assault and the second was for defamation after Trump denied the sexual assault allegations in 2019.

CNN reported the exclusive, citing "multiple sources familiar with the matter." The investigation into alleged perjury is based on Carroll's 2022 deposition in which she stated that she was not financial aided in pursuing her civil case against Trump. Carroll made the statement in a taped deposition, telling Trump's attorney Alina Habba that she was solely responsible for her legal fees.

Two weeks before the trial, Carroll's attorneys "revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman had paid some legal fees and expenses," CNN reported. Habba told the court that Carroll "conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months." Carroll was again questioned by Trump's attorneys, but Judge Lewis Kaplan, presiding over the case, didn't have an issue with the obfuscation or the funding.

While the case is being taken up by the DOJ, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is not working on it as he was involved in the civil suits as Trump's personal attorney. Others in the deputy attorney general's office are working on it along with federal prosecutors in Chicago.

As CNN reported, "Senior leaders at the Justice Department referred the investigation to federal prosecutors in Chicago, according to two sources familiar with the matter. While Carroll’s deposition took place in New York, one of the individuals who helped cover some of Carroll’s legal fees, Hoffman, has a nonprofit based in Chicago."

The Guardian later reported, per "a source familiar with the investigation," that "Carroll is not the subject of the investigation," but that the case "was related to Carroll and her deposition, and is more focused on Hoffman’s non-profit. The non-profit, American Future Republic, helped fund a lawsuit in which Carroll won $5m in damages in 2023 against Donald Trump based on allegations Trump sexually assaulted and defamed her."

In May, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit agreed that Trump could continue delaying payment of the $83.3 million defamation suit a previous court had awarded her. The court said that Trump could continue his appeals but also required him to increase his bond by an additional $7.46 million, bringing it up to nearly $100 million.

"We are pleased that the Second Circuit conditioned the stay on President Trump posting a bond of nearly $100 million — increasing the $91,630,000 bond he originally posted by another $7,462,492.74 to account for the accruing post-judgment interest," Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan said in a statement.

Trump has asked the Supreme Court to review the case but they have as yet declined to hear the case. It was later revealed that anti-Trump pundit George Conway encouraged Carroll to publicize the alleged incident from her memoir and bring legal action against Trump. In 2023, Carroll said that it was after speaking to Conway at a party that she sought suit against Trump.

Correction: Hoffman also sits on the board for Lever for Change, the name of which was removed from this article at their request.