CNN: US Department of Justice Investigates Journalist Who Accused Trump of Sexual Assault

CNN reported, citing sources, that the US Department of Justice has opened an investigation into writer and journalist E. Jean Carroll, who accused former US President Donald Trump of sexual assault.

Network sources said the investigation revolves around Carroll's alleged testimony in two lawsuits she filed against Trump, both of which the former US president lost: in May 2023, the court ordered Trump to pay $5 million to Carroll, and in January 2024, a jury issued a ruling ordering him to pay $83.3 million to her.

The new Justice Department investigation is based on Carroll's 2022 testimony, when she claimed she did not receive any external financial support for the lawsuit. However, it later emerged that billionaire Reid Hoffman covered part of her legal costs.

CNN noted that this is another example of the Justice Department's attempts to pursue Trump's old personal enemies at his request. In April 2026, former FBI Director James Comey, whom the US president considers a central figure in the alleged attempt to use the legal system against him, was charged with threatening Trump's life. In October 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had previously handled a case against Trump, was charged with fraud.