The Justice Department has launched an investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the woman who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault and sued him for defamation.
The investigation, first reported by CNN, will center on whether Carroll committed perjury in 2022 when she testified that her lawsuits received no outside funding.
Her attorneys later disclosed that Reid Hoffmann, founder of Linkedin, had covered some of her legal expenses.
According to a source familiar with the matter, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has recused himself from the investigation, as he is Trump’s former personal attorney and represented him during Carroll’s suit.
The Justice Department told The Epoch Times that it does not comment on ongoing investigations.
The Epoch Times also reached out to Carroll’s attorney, Robbie Kaplan, for comment.
Carroll, a former advice columnist for Elle magazine, authored a book detailing the alleged sexual assault, which she said took place in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1996.
Trump responded to the accusation, saying he’d never met Carroll.
“Number one, she's not my type. Number two, it never happened,” he said in a 2019 interview with The Hill.
Carroll then sued Trump in November 2019, accusing him of defamation.
In January 2024, a jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages. Trump has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. The justices have not yet decided whether to take up the case.