Justice Department Opens a Criminal Perjury Investigation Into E. Jean Carroll, Who Won $88 Million From Trump

The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll committed perjury in depositions connected to her civil lawsuits against Trump, with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago handling the matter. Carroll won a $5 million jury verdict in 2023 finding that Trump sexually abused her in the 1990s and defamed her, and an $83 million defamation judgment in 2024. Reporting indicated the perjury inquiry is connected to a broader criminal investigation into a nonprofit that helped fund her litigation. CNN first reported the investigation on May 27; other outlets confirmed it on May 28.

A federal criminal investigation into a private citizen who prevailed against the president in civil court, run by his own Justice Department, is the scenario that department policies on political independence were written to prevent. The theory under investigation — perjury in a case the president lost — would, if pursued, put federal prosecutorial power behind relitigating a civil judgment against him.

The investigation was open and no charges had been brought as of the reporting reviewed. Weeks later, the Supreme Court declined to hear Trump's appeal in the Carroll case and a judge ordered release of the $5.8 million he owes her.